By Rick HowlettVice-President Joe Biden was in Louisville Monday to tout the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.Biden delivered a 25 minute speech at General Electric's Appliance Park. The company is getting nearly $25 million in tax credits under the program to help retool the facility for lines of energy efficient appliances. "The only way we can make our economy grow is to create jobs and that requries a vibrant private sector to put paychecks in people's pockets, help develop these new industries if we're going to survive and lead, particularly in the area of clean energy," Biden told dozens of workers and local officials gathered in Appliance Park Building 3.Biden said that federal investment in private industry is not a new concept; it was government seed money, he said, that got the country's railroad system off the ground in the 19th century.The Vice-President also attended a southern Indiana fundraiser for Congressman Baron Hill, who faces Republican Todd Young in the November general election.There were some tense moments toward the end of Biden's speech when General Electric Appliances and Lighting CEO Jim Campbell apparently fainted in the sweltering building and fell from the stage. Campbell was quickly helped to his feet and taken to a hospital for observation.
Rick Howlett was midday host and the host of LPM's weekly talk show, "In Conversation." He was with LPM from 2001-2023 and held many different titles, including Morning Edition host, Assignment Editor and Interim News Director. He died in August 2023. Read a remembrance of Rick here.