Support Changes to the Buy American Act
Support Changes to the Buy American Act

Support Changes to the Buy American ActAs we mark the 10-year anniversary of 9/11 with acts of patriotism, it is especially fitting to see the attention being given to bringing jobs back to American workers. I’m referring to more than the speech last week on President Obama’s job proposal, but of the work by two U.S. Congressmen to ensure that even the federal government fully supports the ideal to Buy American and put U.S. citizens to work.

Introduced in August by U.S. Representative Dan Lipinksi (D-IL) and co-sponsored by Rep. Robert Aderholt (R-AL), H.R. 2722 — Buy American Improvement Act of 2011 — would effectively eliminate the loopholes in the existing Buy American laws by tightening the waiver requirements and not allowing federal agencies to segment projects so they no longer meet the minimum dollar amounts applicable under the current rule. H.R. 2722 also sets the definition of an American-made product as one that contains a minimum of 75% domestic content, vs. 50%, and also would prohibit the government from counting components which are not available domestically, as “American made.”

In introducing the bill, Rep. Lipinski stated, “Loopholes in the Buy American Act and lax enforcement of the law by Washington bureaucrats are putting taxpayer dollars in the pockets of foreign workers at a time when 14 million Americans are unemployed. The Buy American Improvement Act will create tens of thousands of American jobs by making sure the federal government buys products stamped ‘Made in U.S.A.’ whenever possible.

“In recent years, more than 20 percent of Commerce Department purchases have come from abroad, the Defense Department has waived Buy American rules 44,000 times, and the Treasury Department couldn’t find a single domestic producer of office furniture. That is unacceptable, and the situation is probably even worse than we think because agency reporting is so poor.”

Passage of this Act can only improve the country’s overall manufacturing strategy, put the U.S. people back to work, and help America get out of debt.

The bill is currently before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. A number of manufacturing and industry associations endorse it. I urge you to also show your support.

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