The White House
Office of the Press Secretary
WASHINGTON- On the morning of Friday, July 2, President Obama and Vice President Biden will attend the memorial service for U.S. Senator Robert C. Byrd in Charleston, West Virginia. More details will be available in the coming days.
Yesterday Vice President Biden travelled to Louisville, Kentucky where he visited the headquarters of GE Appliances to discuss how Recovery Act investments are creating jobs and laying a new foundation for long-term economic growth in the state.
Appliance Park is a huge industrial campus, covering more than 900 acres, employing 3,600 people, and producing approximately 3 million units a year. You can tell that people in the community take pride in the company and the products that it makes.
Vice President Joe Biden greets workers during a visit to the headquarters of GE Appliances & Lighting to talk about how Recovery Act investments are creating jobs and laying the foundation for long- term economic growth in Kentucky and Indiana, in Louisville, Kentucky, June 28, 2010. (Official White House Photo by David Lienemann)
We saw it firsthand when we walked into Building 3, where they manufacture energy efficient dishwashers. The manufacturing floor was still hot from recent production and enthusiastic GE employees in their matching red and blue shirts filled the room to welcome Vice President Biden and share the good news about how business is doing. People were excited and undeniably optimistic.
Vice President Joe Biden visits the headquarters of GE Appliances & Lighting to talk about how recovery act investments are creating jobs and laying the foundation for long-term economic growth in Kentucky and Indiana, in Louisville, Kentucky, June 28, 2010. (Official White House Photo by David Lienemann)
It’s hard to imagine that in 2008 GE Appliances was up for sale and facing a financial crisis. For many workers, the future was uncertain. And yet, less than two years later, GE has experienced a dramatic turnaround thanks to their innovative spirit, local, state, and federal support, and a strengthened partnership with the union.
GE is now investing $600 million to expand manufacturing production at Appliance Park. The investment is supported by $24.8 million in 48C Advanced Energy Manufacturing Tax Credits that GE received under the Recovery Act to retrofit and re-tool the Appliance Park facility for the manufacturing of three energy-efficient product lines: dishwashers, clothes dryers, water heaters. With the addition of the three new product lines, they plan to add over 800 new jobs through 2013.
And these product lines are state-of-art: the water heater uses 62 percent less energy than conventional water heaters and saves the average family $320 a year. It’s also the first new product line manufactured at Appliance Park in 50 years.
The Recovery Act also included consumer incentives for energy efficient appliances, and these rebates have boosted sales of high efficiency appliances. Sales of the dishwashers being built in Building 3 have increased by 20 percent as a result of the Recovery Act consumer rebates. And sales of the clothes washers manufactured in Building 1 are up more than 100 percent. GE even had to add a second shift and hire 137 new employees to handle the increased demand.
Vice President Joe Biden greets workers during a visit to the headquarters of GE Appliances & Lighting to talk about how Recovery Act investments are creating jobs and laying the foundation for long- term economic growth in Kentucky and Indiana, in Louisville, Kentucky, June 28, 2010. (Official White House Photo by David Lienemann)
The White House
Office of the Vice President
VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN: "As we used to say in my years in the Senate, if you’ll excuse a point of personal privilege here for a moment, a very close friend of mine, one of my mentors -- a guy who was there when I was a 29-year-old kid being sworn into the United States Senate shortly thereafter; a guy who stood in the rain, in a pouring rain, freezing rain outside a church as I buried my daughter and my wife before I got sworn in, Robert C. Byrd. He passed away today. He was the -- we lost the dean of the United States Senate, but also the state of West Virginia lost its most fierce advocate and, as I said, I lost a dear friend.
“Throughout his 51 years, the longest tenure of any member in Congress in the history of the United States, Robert C. Byrd was a tough, compassionate, and outspoken leader and dedicated above all else to making life better for the people of the mountain state -- his state, the state of West Virginia. He never lost sight of home. He may have spent half a century in Washington. But there’s a guy -- if anybody wondered -- he never, never, never, never took his eye of his beloved mountain state. And we shall not -- to paraphrase the poet -- we shall not see his like again. And the Senate is a lesser place for his going."
The White House
Office of the Vice President
WASHINGTON, D.C.- On Tuesday, June 29, Vice President Biden will travel to the Gulf Coast region to assess efforts to counter the BP oil spill. The Vice President will visit the National Incident Command Center in New Orleans, and will also visit the Florida panhandle. Additional details and media logistics will be released in the coming days.
Yesterday, Vice President Biden and Secretary of Education Arne Duncan saluted the Parade All-America Service Team to recognize high school students who are changing their communities through service. Parade Magazine, which has featured All-America teams for over 50 years, partnered with the national youth-service organization The League and the HandsOn Network to honor high school students who have demonstrated a remarkable commitment to service. This week, the 15 winners were honored at a special ceremony in Washington.
June 23, 2010 | 17:26 | Public Domain
Vice President Biden speaks to the Parade All-America High School Service Team about the importance of community involvement and public service. The team is composed of high school students who are changing their communities through public service.
June 22, 2010 | 14:44 | Public Domain
Vice President Joe Biden announces the U.S. Government’s intellectual property enforcement strategy that will help protect the rights of intellectual property owners and help protect consumers from unsafe or defective products.
World Cup fever has touched the White House just as much as your house. Last weekend, Vice President Biden led the U.S. delegation to South Africa and took in the opening match between South Africa and Mexico as well as the U.S. team's first match with England. In this new video, recorded on site in Pretoria, the Vice President talks about the games, the growth of soccer in America, and his meeting with FIFA president Joseph Blatter.
June 18, 2010 | 1:30 | Public Domain
Vice President Biden talks from South Africa about the rise of soccer in America and the hopes for the US to host an upcoming World Cup.
June 18, 2010 | 7:55 | Public Domain
Thanks for checking out the West Wing Week, your guide to everything that's happening at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. Join President Obama this week as he hosts an event for small business owners in the Oval Office, makes his fourth trip to the Gulf Coast, meets with governors, residents and workers to discuss the spill, speaks at the Naval Air Station in Pensacola, gives his first Oval Office address, meets with BP Executives, speaks at the American Nurses Association and much more.