DETROIT (AP) -- Vice President Joe Biden has told a Detroit audience that the U.S. needs to build on the city's "rich past" for the state's auto-dependent economy to recover.
Biden is in Michigan Wednesday to announce that the federal stimulus will provide $2.4 billion in taxpayer grants to develop next-generation electric vehicles and batteries -- and tens of thousands of jobs. Michigan is the largest recipient of those grants, garnering more than $1 billion.
Biden spoke at NextEnergy, a nonprofit that works with businesses on research involving alternative and renewable energy.
The Obama administration says 11 Michigan manufacturers and research facilities will receive grants. Forty-eight projects in 25 states will create or retain tens of thousands of jobs.
