MEMPHIS, Tennessee — The nation's first ever Second Gentleman made his first trip to Memphis Thursday, pushing for President Biden's big ticket proposals with big price tags: the American Jobs Plan and the American Families Plan.
Doug Emhoff joined U.S. Department of Labor Secretary Marty Walsh at the Dr. Benjamin Hooks Job Corps Center in Southwest Memphis and highlighted it as a national model for training and childcare at the center of those plans.
Students also gave their feedback to the men at a listening session following the tour.
"I decided to go for it and it's one of the best things I ever did," Ariel James said. "They know if you have a question but don't know how to ask it."
The $2.2 trillion proposed American Jobs plan would focus on improving infrastructure, expanding broadband, and job training across the next decade.
"This Jobs Corps training center - and they have them all over the country and they are providing training to young people in areas and skills that are much needed to move our economy forward," Emhoff said.
Memphis' Job Corps Center is unique, one of the few which also offers childcare.
Expanding access to paid leave, childcare and universal Pre-K are the highlights of the Biden Administration's $1.8 trillion American Families Plan.
"The way it is now, it is not fair to women and women of color - and that has to change," Emhoff said.
"This plan helps everyone in the country, regardless of political affiliation, where you stand on issues. This is about moving the American forward," Sec. Walsh added.
One of Tennessee's Republican U.S. Senators - Bill Hagerty - responded to the plans, telling Local 24 News: "I welcome the Second Gentleman to Memphis and hope he sees how the Volunteer State created an incredible climate for business, job and wage growth through fiscally conservative policies, unlike the path proposed by the Biden Administration full of higher taxes, more regulation, and big government spending."
Last week, Senator Marsha Blackburn - another Republican - said of the plans: “President Joe Biden and Washington Democrats want to spend trillions upon trillions of dollars to incentivize dependency on the federal government. To accomplish this, they will take away more money from Tennesseans’ hard-earned paychecks."
Right now, both plans face an uphill challenge in Congress, with little margin for error in a 50-50 Senate.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said this week he expects zero support from Senate Republicans for either spending proposal at their current price tags.