© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: U.S. President Joe Biden speaks while visiting the POET bioremediation plant in Menlo, Iowa, U.S., April 12, 2022. REUTERS/Al Drago
By Jeff Mason
GREENSBORO, NC (Reuters) – President Joe Biden on Thursday defended his handling of the US economy amid a 40-year spike in inflation that he blamed in part on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. .
Speaking at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University in Greensboro, Biden pushed for efforts to strengthen America’s supply chains, accelerate American semiconductor manufacturing and reduce dependence on suppliers. foreign production.
But he spent a significant portion of his speech talking about his handling of the economy, a factor that has sent his job approval ratings down that could spell trouble for Democrats in the election. midterms of parliament in November.
Biden said job growth had accelerated in his first year in office, including 365,000 new jobs in the manufacturing sector, and the unemployment rate had plummeted.
However, Dogging Biden continued to increase prices across the board.
“I know that we are still facing the challenge of high prices and inflation,” Biden said. “Putin’s invasion of Ukraine has raised gas prices around the world.” He said food prices were also affected by the fall in Ukraine’s wheat exports.
Biden called on Congress for final approval of the bipartisan Innovation Act to boost spending on U.S. manufacturing and emerging technologies and compete with China.
White House officials said Biden wants Congress to pass the legislation as soon as possible and are delighted that lawmakers from both the House and Senate have begun working to redress discrepancies between versions of the law. of each institute, the official said.
“Congress needs to get this bill on my desk as quickly as possible. Our economic strength is on the front lines and national security is on the front lines as well,” Biden said.
Biden spoke after watching a four-legged robot called Spot parade around a university room, an example of ongoing research at the university. The robotic dog is said to be able to move through complex environments to perform remote tasks.
Biden’s visit to a historic black college in competitive election status comes amid the November Senate race, which is expected to be among the races to decide whether the party Will Biden’s Democrats retain their narrow control of Congress?
The president’s popularity has dropped, with public approval near an all-time low of 41 percent, according to a Reuters/Ipsos opinion poll this week.
