Vice President Kamala Harris visited Milwaukee for a roundtable discussion on the Biden administration's $2 trillion infrastructure and jobs plan and a tour of a UW-Milwaukee research facility.Harris left Joint Base Andrews about 9:15 a.m. Tuesday.She was about 30 minutes ahead of schedule.The vice president began her day by delivering remarks to the Washington Conference on the Americas at the White House.Harris landed in Milwaukee about 11:30 a.m. and was met by Gov. Tony Evers, Democratic Wisconsin Sen. Tammy Baldwin and U.S. Rep. Gwen Moore (D-Milwaukee).She toured the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee's clean energy laboratories and hosted a roundtable on the American Jobs Plan.The vice president emphasized "its impact on local communities."The infrastructure plan would invest billions of dollars into projects like those underway at UWM."It's not going to be easy," she said. "People out there are going to say that's too much. People are going to say well roads and bridges - to do the things you all are doing - things that are being created here - infrastructure is basically how are you going to get where you need to go."Harris heard how researchers were developing charging stations for electric vehicles.She received a tour of the lab by Professor Adel Nasiri and Imagen Chief Technology Officer Ezana Mekonnen about energy research and electronic vehicle batteries.The vice president asked a few follow-up questions about the research, real world applications and jobs. Harris concluded the roundtable with another pitch for the infrastructure proposal."When did we last invest? We need to do more than just catch up," she said. "We must invest with a sense of urgency. We need to invest in our universities, in our children and in our people. It’s not going to be easy. But we must have investment in innovation."Event concluded about 2:30 p.m.The vice president departed General Mitchell International Airport about 4:05 p.m. She acknowledged the legislative process would be difficult."We really do hope and still have a real level of optimism about what is possible, but we all have to approach it in an earnest way," Harris said. "This is great work and it's the work we intend to support with substantial resources from the federal government.""President Biden and Vice President Harris are delivering big time for Wisconsin. The American Rescue Plan has certainly lived up to its name—and then some. In partnership with Gov. Evers and Wisconsin's Democratic Congressional delegation, they've put checks in the pockets of 89% of adults in Wisconsin, made it possible to administer more than 4 million vaccine doses in our state, and driven our unemployment rate down to 3.8 percent — well below the national average," said Ben Wikler of the Wisconsin Democratic Party. "Today's visit by the vice president to Milwaukee, so early into the first term, drives home how committed President Biden and Vice President Harris are to getting Wisconsin families and small businesses the support they need to not only recover from the pandemic but to bounce back better. So many Wisconsinites feel both pride and relief to have a true federal partner who is committed to investing in our people and infrastructure to make our cities and our state a better place. As we begin to recover from such a difficult year, this visit is just what the doctor ordered." Lawmakers and administration officials have been negotiating the infrastructure and jobs package. The question is whether the administration will aim for bipartisanship or attempt to pass the legislation without any Republican votes. "More than 70% of President Biden's so-called 'infrastructure plan' will be spent on programs few would even consider infrastructure," Republican Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson said Tuesday. "It should be interesting to see how Vice President Harris tries to justify this $2.25 trillion spending boondoggle. Instead of creating more opportunities, it will kill people's jobs, increase their taxes, and further implement radical leftists' agenda. Happy to have her visit Milwaukee, but she really ought to inspect the crisis President Biden created at the border."Wisconsin state Republicans wanted to shift the focus of Harris' visit to illegal crossings on the U.S. southern border.They held a dueling event in Madison.It was Harris' first trip to Wisconsin since taking office in January.