President Joe Biden visited Syracuse Thursday to celebrate the $100-billion investment in central New York from the semiconductor and chip company Micron Technology.
If there was a theme of Thursday’s Micron event at Onondaga Community College it would probably be “hope.”
“How do you spell ‘hope’ in New York? It’s M-I-C-R-O-N,” Gov. Kathy Hochul said. “That’s how you spell ‘hope.’ M-I-C-R-O-N. We are grateful to you.”
Hochul said the partnership with Micron turns the page to a new era of New York.
"We don't need to be a Silicon Valley or a Triangle down in North Carolina," Hochul said. "This is not just Chips Corridor. This is Chips country. This is New York state and we're going to build it here in New York."
Biden, a Syracuse University Law School graduate, was welcomed back to Syracuse by a packed crowd to celebrate one of the largest investments in American history. He said the Micron investment will ensure a future made in America.
“One of the bright spots around the country, it should give us a sense of optimism and hope about who we are as a nation," Biden said. "It’s part of a broader story about an economy we’re building and one that works for everyone. [It] positions America to win the economic competition of the 21st century. And again that’s not an exaggeration, it's literally an accurate statement.”
The president continued to stress a “Made in America” mindset saying his administration has created 700,000 manufacturing jobs so far.
“Where is it written that the United States of America can’t be the manufacturing capital of the world?” Biden said. “Think about this. No, I mean it sincerely. Where in the hell is it written that says we cannot be as we’ve been heard for the last 25 years, the manufacturing capital of the world.”
Micron CEO Sanjay Mehrotra received a standing ovation before and after his remarks. He said once the Micron plant is fully built, it will produce nearly four billion chips a year with each chip containing billions of bits of information.
“The fabs that we build right here in Clay will be a critical part of Micron’s global manufacturing network creating leading edge memory chips to be used in most demanding electronic applications worldwide everywhere,” Mehrotra said. “Clay, New York will be able to say with pride that they are home to some of the most advanced manufacturing in the world."
Biden said he's never been more optimistic about America's future.
“We use the word all the time, transformational,” Biden said. “But this is transformational and it's not just here, but it's primarily here and so I want to thank you all. This is a big day for Central New York, but it's also a big day for the United States. I think of my grandfather and say, 'With the grace of God and the goodwill of the neighbors and a creek not rising, we’re on our way.’”
Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY), who helped lead the charge on the CHIPS and Science Bill, said Biden’s legacy in Syracuse is secured there forever.
“Syracuse has always been part of President Biden’s history,” Schumer said. “But now thanks to the president’s leadership, Mr. President, you have changed Syracuse history forever. This is a great day for upstate New York. A great day for America.”