Remarks by Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Wally Adeyemo at the Wisconsin Building Trades Conference

As Prepared for DeliveryLet me start by thanking you all for having me here today at the end of your conference. It’s great to be back in Milwaukee and to join the Building Trades.Just four years ago, we wouldn’t be able to have a meeting like this because of the pandemic. COVID upended our communities and our economy. The unemployment rate soared to almost 15 percent and climbed even higher in the Milwaukee area.[1] In just a few months, the country lost almost two and a half million construction and manufacturing jobs.[2]I remember how much uncertainty we had then—not only about the health of our loved ones, but about how people were going to be able to provide for their families and if communities would be able to rebound.When President Biden and Vice President Harris were elected, they were committed to not only ending the pandemic but building an economy that works for