It’s not every day, an average Joe from California gets to speak to President Joe Biden.
 
“It’s an extreme pleasure to be speaking with you, I’m going to remember this for the rest of my life,” Kevin Wilson said in a virtual chat with the president on March 4.

What You Need To Know

  • President Biden and Barbara Humpton, president and CEO of Siemens USA, announced that Siemens will invest $54 million in expanded domestic production and create 300 manufacturing jobs

  • Biden’s proposed changes to the Buy American Act raise the domestic content threshold to 75%

  • Under proposed changes to the Buy American Act, the government would be required to buy certain critical products from American manufacturers as much as possible

  • Siemens adds to the nearly $180 billion in planned investments from major companies, such as Intel, General Motors and Boeing

 Wilson gave the president a virtual tour of Siemens USA’s plant in Pomona, where he’s worked for 25 years.
 
It’s a company that manufactures electrical parts for everything from electric vehicle chargers to data centers to industrial sites. Wilson said when he left the military, it was tough for him to land a job, until Siemens hired him.
 
“I come from a hard working-class family,” he said.

Now, he’s grateful to have a good salary that’s helped him put his daughter through college and support his son’s football dreams. 

For decades, the U.S. has been hemorrhaging manufacturing jobs to countries overseas, where the standard of living is generally lower and workers are paid far less.
 
A push by Biden would bring some of those jobs back. Under proposed changes to the Buy American Act, the government would be required to buy certain critical products from American manufacturers as much as possible.

Related Stories

By 2029, at least 75% of products bought with taxpayer dollars would have to consist of American-made parts, subsequently, increasing American supply chains and the number of domestic manufacturing jobs.
 
In March, Biden and the CEO of Siemens, Barbara Humpton, announced the company will invest $54 million to expand domestic production and create 300 jobs at two of its locations.
 
“We’ll expand opportunities for people at all stages of their lives, careers and education to shape a future that’s more sustainable, resilient and equitable,” Humpton said.
 
Siemens adds to the nearly $180 billion in planned investments from major companies, such as Intel, General Motors and Boeing, that’ll also create thousands more manufacturing jobs nationwide.
 
“The middle class are the ones who drive the economy. We’re the worker bees, so to speak,” Wilson said. “We need jobs with good benefits to attract people.”