Biden visits Poughkeepsie IBM to promote historic investments in U.S. tech
President Joe Biden visits Poughkeepsie IBM to promote historic investments in U.S. tech. Photo by Emily Stellakis ('24), Lauryn Starke ('23), and Erin-Leigh Hoffman ('24)
President Biden traveled to Poughkeepsie on Thursday to celebrate IBM’s announcement of a $20 billion investment across the Hudson Valley over the next decade to spur increased production of semiconductors and the development of advanced technologies.
In a rare presidential visit to the region, Biden championed a recent bipartisan legislative win that subsidizes U.S. semiconductor chip manufacturing. It also promises to give the U.S. a technological edge against China while boosting blue-collar jobs. The CHIPS and Sciences Act, a $280 billion bipartisan package signed into law this summer, was hailed by the President as a “groundbreaking” measure that will make America the “epicenter of the future of quantum computing.”
“More is going to change for the better in the next 10 years than happened in the last 40 years,” Biden said in his remarks at the Poughkeepsie IBM campus. “We are better positioned than any nation in the world to own the second quarter of the 21st century. It’s because of innovation.”
Against a backdrop of signs reading “A Future Made in America,” the President emphasized that the historic investment in innovation and technology will ensure the U.S. “leads the world in industries of the future,” including artificial intelligence and quantum computing. The law boosts U.S. research and development funding to nearly 1% of the GDP—the largest single-year gain in 70 years. The law is intended to bolster competitiveness with China and other nations that have surpassed the U.S. in research and technology. It will also ramp up the production of the semiconductor chips which are in everything from smartphones to military technology.
“Where is it written that we can’t lead manufacturing in the world? I don’t know where that’s written. That’s one of the things the CHIPS Act is going to change — a law that’s going to build the future and a proud, proud legacy not only for IBM, but for the country,” Biden said.
President Biden speaking with constituents at the IBM facility. Photo by Erin-Leigh Hoffman ('24)
The President spoke optimistically of the scientific developments the large-scale investment could facilitate, including “vaccines for cancers, cures for HIV and inventing the next big thing that hadn’t even been imagined yet,” according to Biden. He also highlighted the law’s promise to create “10,000 good-paying” union jobs and restore the Hudson Valley as a world hub of manufacturing.
IBM’s commitment of $20 billion over the next decade is intended to support and expand the “vibrant technology ecosystem” in N.Y. and unlock new discoveries in semiconductors, computers, hybrid cloud, artificial intelligence and quantum computers. As the nation faces myriad challenges in climate, energy and transportation, IBM CEO Arvind Krishna said that investments in American technology and innovation are essential to “solving these problems and driving economic prosperity.”
Biden was joined at the IBM facility by Gov. Kathy Hochul and Hudson Valley Reps. Sean Patrick Maloney (NY-18) and Pat Ryan (NY-19), who preceded the President in hailing the significance of the law and IBM’s sizeable investment for blue-collar workers in the Hudson Valley. The appearance was intended to boost the fortunes of House Democrats Maloney and Ryan, who both face competitive races in November.
NY Gov. Hochul spoke at the IBM facility with President Biden. Source: Photo by Emily Stellakis ('24), Lauryn Starke ('23), and Erin-Leigh Hoffman ('24)
The lawmakers, alongside Gov. Hochul, greeted Biden upon his arrival that morning at Stewart Air National Guard Base in Newburgh.
Biden’s stop in Poughkeepsie was part of a larger trip to promote the administration’s legislative accomplishments in the leadup to next month’s critical midterm elections. After leaving Poughkeepsie, the President attended an N.J. fundraiser at the house of Gov. Phil Murphy before heading to a Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee fundraiser in Manhattan.
Biden’s visit marked a rare occurrence for Dutchess County, as the last time a sitting president visited the area was during the Clinton administration in May 2000.
Additional reporting by Lauryn Starke and Erin-Leigh Hoffman.