Supporting American Jobs & The Buy American Act

SUPPORTING AMERICAN JOBS & THE BUY AMERICAN ACT

Mr. FEINGOLD. Mr. President, I rise today for the second in a series of statements that I plan to deliver about the hemorrhaging of American manufacturing jobs and the steps that I think that we ought to take to stem the flow of manufacturing jobs abroad and to strengthen our deteriorating manufacturing base.

Recently, I talked about how tax policy can help to strengthen American manufacturing. Today, I want to discuss the role of Federal procurement policy in supporting American businesses and American jobs.

The Buy American Act of 1933 is the primary statute that governs procurement by the Federal Government. The name of the act accurately and succinctly describes its purpose: to ensure that the Federal Government supports domestic companies and domestic workers by buying American-made goods.

It only makes sense for the Federal Government to make every effort to purchase goods that are made in America. A law requiring this commonsense approach should not be necessary. Unfortunately, this law is necessary and, even more unfortunately, the law contains a number of loopholes that make it too easy for government agencies to buy foreign-made goods.

I have often heard my colleagues say on this floor that American-made goods are the best in the world. I could not agree more. For generations, Wisconsin has had an economy dominated by manufacturing, and Wisconsinites have proudly made goods under name brands that are known around the country and even around the world brands such as Oshkosh B'Gosh, Harley-Davidson, Snap-On Tools, Masterlock, and S.C. Johnson. Many Wisconsin factories have churned out products for the Federal Government, including for the Department of Defense.

Regrettably, thousands of good-paying manufacturing jobs have left my State—77,000 jobs of this kind in the last 2½ years. Those companies that remain in my State often struggle to compete with cheaper foreign goods that flood into U.S. markets—even when they may be competing for contracts to supply our own Federal Government.

This Congress should do more to ensure that the Federal Government makes every effort to buy American-made goods by strengthening the provisions of the Buy American Act.

Some argue that the Buy American Act has outlived its usefulness in today's global economy. I could not disagree more. I strongly disagree. The act is as relevant today as it was when it was enacted in 1933. The passage of 70 years has not diminished the importance of this act for American manufacturing companies or for those who are employed in this crucial sector of our economy.

In fact, a strong argument can be made that this act is even more necessary today than it was 70 years ago. With American jobs heading overseas at an alarming rate, the Government should be doing all it can to make sure that U.S. taxpayer dollars are spent to support American jobs.

Some argue that the Buy American Act is protectionist and anti-free trade. I disagree. Supporting American industry is not protectionist; it is just common sense. The erosion of our manufacturing base needs to be stopped, and Congress should support procurement and trade policies that help to ensure that we do not continue to lose jobs in this vital segment of our economy.

Recently I introduced the Buy American Improvement Act, which would strengthen the existing act by tightening its waiver provisions. Currently, the heads of Federal Departments and Agencies are given broad discretion to waive the act and to buy foreign goods. We should ensure that American companies are given a fair chance to compete for Federal contracts.

Companies in Wisconsin tell me that they do not mind having to compete for Federal and other contracts. In fact, they welcome the chance to compete and to put their high-quality products up against the best that the United States and the world has to offer. What they are concerned about is an uneven playing field that tilts in favor of foreign companies, which enjoy advantages including government subsidies, lower labor costs, little environmental regulation, and devalued currencies.

My constituents are also concerned about the prospect of certain types of industries leaving the United States completely, thus making the Federal Government dependent on foreign sources for goods, such as plane or ship parts, that our military may need to acquire on short notice.

In order to get a better picture of how often the Federal Government buys foreign goods, my bill also would expand annual reporting requirements regarding the use of Buy American Act waivers that currently apply only to the Department of Defense to include all Federal Departments and Agencies. I am pleased that the Senate has adopted amendments based on this provision that I have offered to a number of appropriations bills, thus putting the Senate on record in support of increased public disclosure regarding the use of Buy American Act waivers.

I am also pleased that my legislation is supported by a broad array of business and labor groups including: Save American Manufacturing, the U.S. Business and Industry Council, the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, the national and Wisconsin AFL-CIO, and the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers.

In addition, I believe that the Senate itself should lead by example and make every effort to purchase American-made goods.
For that reason, I recently sent a letter to the chairman and ranking member of the Senate Committee on Rules and Administration asking them to support strengthening current law governing Senate procurement to clarify that the Senate should comply with Buy American requirements.

My letter also asks that the Rules Committee direct the Secretary of the Senate and the Sergeant at Arms to provide to the Senate an annual report, beginning at the end of the current fiscal year, describing the dollar value of any articles, materials, or supplies purchased that are manufactured outside of the United States, outlining the reasons for such foreign purchases, and providing a summary of total procurement funds spent on goods manufactured in the United States versus funds spent on goods manufactured outside of the United States. This report is consistent with the annual report already required of the Pentagon. I think we in the Senate ourselves should comply with the same requirement we impose on the Pentagon.

As I have repeatedly noted, Congress cannot simply stand on the sidelines while all these American jobs continue to be shipped overseas. While there may be no single solution to this problem, I believe that one way in which Congress should act is by strengthening the Buy American Act. I will continue to come to the floor to discuss other ways in which we can work to strengthen this crucial segment of our economy in the coming weeks.