Hoyer Remarks at Grand Opening of Blink Charging's New Manufacturing Facility in Bowie
BOWIE, MD — Congressman Steny H. Hoyer (MD-05), Chair of the Regional Leadership Council, delivered the following remarks today at the grand opening of Blink Charging's new manufacturing facility in Bowie:
“Thank you very much for being here, for giving us such a great exposition on what's happening in terms of the climate. And to all of you here, Gabe [ Klein, Joint Office of Energy and Transportation Executive Director] thank you very much for your leadership as well. And now who did I leave out, Mr. Reddy, [Blink Charging Board Member, former CEO of SemaConnect] [...] Thank you very much for being here as well.
“President Jones, you are the object of all this action. What does that mean? In 2010, I created an agenda for the Congress, not for myself, but for the Congress, which was called Make It In America. We were discussing Made in America – discussed that for about 15, 20 minutes – and I said, ‘Made in America is what we did yesterday. Making It In America is what we're doing today and what we’re going to do tomorrow.’
“President Biden was elected. He came to Congress, and he set forth a vision for America. Now what was the context of that vision? The context of that vision was the pandemic that assaulted America. That was 14 years, or actually 10 years, after I did Make It In America. But this was the focus. And during the pandemic, what did we find out in America?
“A great big strong country that we were convinced could do everything. Oh, we don't make that. We got to get masks from somebody else. Oh, yeah, we don't make those. You got to get that from someplace else. And then what happened? The automobile manufacturers shut down the plants. Why? Because we didn't make chips. We had to get them from someplace else.
“We went from 40% of producing our own chips down to 10%. So, it was clear as a result of the pandemic – as if it hadn’t been clear enough already – that we needed to make things in America. President Biden set forth a vision for our country in January ‘21. He said, we need to Make It In America and we need to, in order to accomplished that, to invest where? In America. Invest in America. And that's what was the agenda.
“And then, very frankly, ladies and gentlemen, I don't know if you've been watching Congress lately, not working so hard and they only have a 4-vote majority, we only had a 4-vote majority and the Senate was even. Those of you that think that Congress can’t work – it did work. Not only did it work, but it passed [five] extraordinary pieces of legislation that are all about investing in Americans and America.
“The [American] Rescue Plan – we got shots in arms to make sure people were going to be well, we got kids back in school and we got money in people’s pockets so, they didn't fall through the floor. And that was the Investing in America agenda.
“Then we put infrastructure. The President said last week, on Thursday night: We talked about infrastructure days, weeks, months, years. That’s all it was: talk.
“And in November of [‘22], what we did was, we invested in our infrastructure and put over a trillion dollars on the table. So what is infrastructure about? It's about having the ability to grow jobs, grow the economy. So Blink is charging, but what the President said is correct on Thursday, was America is charging. Maryland is charging, Prince George's County is charging, and as a result, Blink is charging. Or vice versa. So if Blink is charging, America is charging, because as the Governor said, ‘We are in this together.’
“So, we are here to celebrate not only the success of American companies, but there are lots of people in that room with good paying jobs, high skills, and making sure that we have these [electric vehicle chargers] Made in America.
“Now we invented television. How many of you have an American television in your house? None of us. That's why it's so important to have Blink made in America.
“I'm pleased to be here with you, for over 14 years that I’ve been talking about how we need to Make It In America. Last Congress, was the most Make It In America Congress in which I have served. And I’ve been there, as some of you know, for a number of years. Elected in 1876. I’m a little worried at 84 years of age – Joe Biden may be a little young.
“The way you grow is you invest. Marylanders who work here will drive America’s green transition forward. That's going to be good for my four great-grandchildren. They’re going to have an environment which is healthy, robust, and makes them successful personally, as it makes our country successful.
“As House Majority Leader last Congress, I was proud to support not only the infrastructure bill, but the investment again in those chips I talked about. The CHIPS and Science Act, […] I believe in science because it is real, and it makes a difference. And we invested the largest sum in basic science of any Congress in the history of the United States and more money on cleaning up and making sure our environment is healthy and robust than anybody else ever in the world, in the world.
“That’s a lot of money and it’s making a difference. And we’ve gone from about an $80 billion private sector investment just a few years ago, now to a $190 billion investment by the private sector. Why? Because they saw a public sector that was partnering with them – together – as the Governor said.
“We have historically lowered people’s costs. Inflation is tough. You go to the grocery store – it’s tough. You go to the gasoline station – it’s tough. This is going to help there too. That landmark bill created a $4,000 tax credit […]and expanded tax credits to $7,500. We expect to see tens of millions of EVs on the road by 2030.
“And we need to ensure EV charging production keeps pace, because nobody is going to buy something if you can’t charge it, and that’s what this is about. So it helps. Not only does this charging station help someone with an electric truck, it helps millions of people have good jobs in manufacturing those cars and selling those cars. We still have a lot of work ahead, also still have a lot left to do to implement the laws we enacted in the last Congress. We also did the Inflation Reduction Act which reduced costs, made sure that we have the prescription drugs that people can afford […]. As Chair of the Regional Leadership Council, I’m proud to continue supporting that, and it’s going be all over America. What we did in that last Congress that’s making a difference in their lives and the lives of their families and children. President Biden says generational change […]
“So I’m pleased to be here with you and, President Jones, come on up here.
“My wild guess is that this certificate is worth maybe a $1.10. Maybe not that much, although I did sign it, so that may be worth something. But this is a certificate of Congressional recognition for what you have done, for what Blink has done, for what Blink continues to do. Very frankly, Glenn Ivey and I, Senator, Delegates, can pass a lot of things.
“Doesn’t mean anything until all of you have implemented what we’ve said. That’s what makes a difference. That’s why this is so valuable, because Congress or the United States said Blink is Making It In America[…]”