Biden makes case for his economic policies at Belen wind farm plant

BELEN — The empty warehouse once made red cups — known for tailgating — before shuttering.

Later, it made plastics, but then more than 100 people were laid off, and the plant closed again.

On Wednesday, the building hosted President Joe Biden, who said it was an example of the way incentives included in the Inflation Reduction Act and other bills that he has signed into law are creating manufacturing and other jobs across the country.

Arcosa, a Dallas-based company, is investing $60 million into the New Mexico facility so that it can produce wind turbines that will be used all over the Southwest. It plans to start production sometime next year. The company’s CEO said it made that investment because incentives from a bill that Biden signed into law drummed up business.

Biden, in his third trip to the state in less than two years, took to a stage Wednesday afternoon in front of a screen projecting “Bidenomics” at the Arcosa complex off of N.M. 304. He started off by putting his arm around Antonio Carrillo, the president and CEO of Arcosa.

“Folks, this is a team sport,” Biden said before launching into a nearly 30-minute speech that touched on the major legislation he has signed into law during his first term.

Carrillo said Arcosa was having to lay off workers in recent years. But he said that after production incentives included in the Inflation Reduction Act were signed into law, orders for wind turbines started pouring in. Carrillo said in the last year, Arcosa has taken $1.1 billion worth of work orders, which is why it expanded into the Belen facility.

About 250 people are expected to work there.

“Bidenomics is just another way of saying restore the American Dream,” Biden said during his speech. “I’m not here to declare victory on the economy. We have a lot more work to do. But we have a plan. And it’s turning things around.”

New Mexico Senate Republicans, meanwhile, raised concerns about Biden highlighting the Inflation Reduction Act. In a news release, they cited a Tax Foundation study that found the bill could ultimately kill thousands of jobs. The Republican National Committee called Biden’s tour through New Mexico the “Bankrupting America Tour.”

State Sen. Greg Baca, R-Belen, said in a news release that the Arcosa facility is a bright spot in what has otherwise been a grim economy.

“While I celebrate these new jobs, let’s not forget that good wages only go far in a strong economy,” Baca said in a statement. “Under Bidenomics, working-class families are being gutted by inflation at the pump and the grocery store. I hope this presidential visit is more than just a politically motivated publicity stunt distracting us from the work needed to improve the lives of all New Mexicans.”

New Mexico was the second stop on a three-state tour the president is making through the Southwest to highlight some of the key policies of his first term in office. Biden is seeking a second term in 2024.

“The key element in (the Inflation Reduction Act) is production tax credits. They really incentivize manufacturing because the incentive is tied to how much you produce, rather than how much you invest,” Sen. Martin Heinrich, D-N.M. said in an interview after Biden’s speech.

Biden tried to make the case Wednesday that the New Mexico facility exemplifies that his economic ideas are working.

“That’s basically what we’re talking about today when we talk about investing in America,” Biden said. “I want to talk about our progress with growing the economy from the middle out and the bottom up, not the top down.”

The speech was welcomed by the audience of several hundred people, who broke out in applause several times.

Biden pounded his hands on the podium at times and forcefully defended his administration’s record.

He called on some of his familiar tactics: he referenced his parents’ kitchen table and the tragic deaths of his first wife and daughter. He whispered into the microphone for dramatic effect and was folksy when talking about New Mexico’s politicians.

“You’re the very best, kid. The the best. No, no no. That’s a fact. I love ya,” he said to Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, who attended the event with other members of the state’s congressional delegation and tribal and local leaders.

Biden also took aim at Republicans during the campaign-style speech.

He said an even bigger wind tower manufacturing plant than the one in New Mexico is being built through tax incentives in the district of U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., whom Biden described as “that quiet Republican lady.” He said Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala. — who Biden said “used to be a pretty good football coach” — had announced publicly the projects being funded in his state through the inflation bill without mentioning that Tuberville rallied and voted against it.

“I’ll see you at the groundbreakings,” Biden said. “When I ran for president I said I was going to be a president for all Americans, whether you live in a blue state or a red state. And I’m going to keep my promise.”

The Republican Party of New Mexico said the event was out-of-touch with issues that New Mexicans care about, such as the state’s education system.

“He didn’t address our border communities or offer them any solutions to stop the child traffickers, deadly drug smugglers, and cartels who are exploiting our open border,” said Ash Soular, a spokeswoman for the party. “He didn’t address our oil and gas workers, who produce the largest source of revenue in our state and whose jobs are threatened by his administration.”

In an interview, White House climate adviser Ali Zaidi said New Mexico is an example of how clean energy can flourish in a state that’s among the top-oil producers in the country. The construction of a solar farm in the Four Corners area is creating good jobs, he said, as are efforts to cap old oil and gas wells to prevent emissions.

“I think in every ZIP code in every part of the country,” Zaidi said, “we’re seeing tremendous economic opportunity in tackling the climate crisis. New Mexico is a case study in how you do it.”

Heinrich said as the manufacturing jobs start to get off the ground, it’s likely that people on both sides of the aisle will start to see the benefits.

“I think climate has become one of those wedge issues,” he said. “But I think as the manufacturing takes root, a majority of that manufacturing is going to happen in red states and red districts, which is really going to change minds.”