UPDATE: GOP Chair Blasts Biden Before Ames Visit

Vice President Joe Biden plans to visit campus on Thursday to discuss proposals that would boost manufacturing jobs across the country.

Biden will deliver remarks starting at 11:30 a.m. at Howe Hall. A release said he will discuss national proposals to reward businesses that bring manufacturing jobs back to America and the importance of skilled workers, scientists and engineers.  

Biden's speech will be the administrations third visit to Iowa in recent times, which according to A.J. Spiker, an Ames resident and chairman of the Republican Party of Iowa, is a bad sign.

“Three Iowa visits already this year clearly show that this administration is worried about its reelection prospects in November. As a resident and businessman from Ames, I have witnessed firsthand recent graduates struggling to find jobs in this economy," Spiker said in a prepared statement issued Tuesday. 

Nationally the unemployment rate for people ages 20 to 24 is about 13 percent. 

"Vice President Biden and the administration have a lot to explain. This administration’s policies have failed not only the American people generally, but young, eager Iowans coming right out of college in particular," Spiker said.

Spiker's complete statement can be found here.

Jan Bauer, Chair of the Story County Democrats, called Spiker's statement typical of the current political atmosphere.

"Unfortunately the modern form of politics is cyncism, finger pointing and dismissing people," she said.

Bauer said Iowa State University is a natural back drop for Biden's major policy announcement. He had high profile support in Ames during his 2007 presidential bid. His backers included Iowa Senator Herman Quirmbach and Iowa Representative Lisa Heddens. 

"We are trying to rebuild the manufacturing capabilities of U.S. industries," Bauer said. "Iowa State is the perfect place to come. It's an engineering college."

The time of Biden's appearence was incorrect in an earlier version of this story due to incorrect information provided to Patch.