Dec. 20 (UPI) — President Joe Biden traveled to Wisconsin Wednesday to highlight the growth of Black business ownership under his administration, and to call attention to federal investments in Black-owned plumbing firms to remove lead pipes in Milwaukee.

Biden spoke at the Wisconsin Black Chamber of Commerce on the broader government effort to cultivate and strengthen small businesses across the country, with Black business ownership growing at the fastest pace in 30 years, Biden said. Some pro-Palestine demonstrators gathered outside to protest against his handling of Israel’s war.

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In his speech, Biden said Black wealth is up a record 60% since the pandemic as he called Black small businesses something that “doesn’t get enough attention.”

“You’re proof that Black small businesses with talent, integrity and ingenuity are the engines that glue the whole community together. You hold communities together. You’re the ones to sponsor little league teams, you are the ones who are involved in church events,” Biden said.

The president was joined by the founder and owner of Hero Plumbing, a Black-owned business that is working to dismantle and replace lead pipes across Milwaukee amid Biden’s goal of removing all lead service lines in the United States by 2030 — a massive project funded through $15 billion from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

Biden announced the Grow Milwaukee Coalition as one of 22 finalists for new investments in job creation, small business growth and economic opportunity in majority-Black communities that were severely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Milwaukee will be one of 22 communities in the country competing for tens of millions of dollars in federal grants to grow small businesses, create good-paying jobs, and build factories of the future,” Biden said. “It matters.”

As the 2024 election cycle drew near, Biden planned to use the visit to try to sway voters who were still on the fence with the incumbent due to his age and lingering concerns about the economy.

Despite many positive economic signs in recent months, including lower inflation, a rising stock market, and 3.7% unemployment, Americans remain pessimistic about their economic future as wages were not keeping pace with the high cost of living, according to a poll released last month by Marquette University Law School.

Biden’s stop in the battleground state presented an opportunity for the president to slam Republicans, including Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson, for voting against his legislative agenda that is now serving to promote small business opportunities across the country, with $79 million to help Wisconsin expand access to Black business owners.

“Let’s be clear, Republicans are against so many critical actions that help working- and middle-class people, especially Black Americans. Just remember how the pandemic hit Black businesses especially hard. How my predecessor — on his watch — women- and minority-owned small businesses found themselves last in line to access emergency relief through programs like the Paycheck Protection Program,” Biden said.

“On my watch, energy and emergency relief went to minority-owned businesses first, not last.”

Democrats in the state hailed the president’s visit while acknowledging the importance of Biden’s trip leading up to 2024, with primaries for Democrats and Republicans each scheduled for Feb. 20.

“As goes Wisconsin, so goes the nation,” said former County Democratic chairman Chris Walton. “We are the deciders in this country of the presidential election.

State Republicans said they were glad to see Biden putting focus on the state, but expressed dissonance with the president’s economic policies.

“I think it’s good the president is coming to Milwaukee, but I hope that he talks to people who are actually suffering under Bidenonomics,” said Rep. Bryan Steil, R-Wis. “Everything is 17% more expensive than when the president took office. In large part that’s due to his policies that have driven inflation higher, particularly reckless spending.”

The third visit by the president to Wisconsin this year comes as Milwaukee has experienced an economic resurgence since Biden took office three years ago, according to the White House.

The employment rate among the Black population has reached its highest point in over a decade, and new business applications have surged by almost 70%.

Since Biden took office, 15 million Americans have applied to start new businesses, while the share of Black households owning a business doubled from 2019 to 2022 after declining between 2007 and 2019.

This has led to a record 60% increase in Black wealth since before the pandemic, while Black unemployment has reached historic lows, the White House said.

The administration awarded $70 billion in federal contracts to small, disadvantaged businesses in 2022, as well as $12 billion to community lenders to improve access to capital resources for Black firms. About 14.6 million applications have been received to participate in the programs, the White House said.

Biden’s visit was intended to call attention to policies that have benefited the nation’s Black citizens as he faced criticism from some progressives that he had not fully addressed the issue of reparations during his term.

So far, the Treasury Department has given the green light for more than $8 billion in funding to all 50 states. Additionally, they’ve granted an extra $108 million in technical assistance to 32 states.

Additionally, the Small Business Administration provided $50 billion in affordable loans to small businesses in fiscal 2023, with a large percentage of support going to Black-owned businesses.

Meanwhile, the Small Business Community Navigators Pilot Program has provided $100 million in funding to 51 organizations, including the U.S. Black Chambers of Commerce and the National Urban League, to help finance minority entrepreneurs.

On Tuesday, the White House also announced that Vice President Kamala Harris will visit Wisconsin on Jan. 22 as part of a national tour to promote abortion rights as Democrats seek to knuckle down on another key issue leading up to the November election.