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Home > BizTimes Daily > Archives > December 17, 2009
Feingold calls for tighter ‘Buy American’ requirements for government
Published December 17, 2009 - BizTimes Daily
U.S. Sen. Russ Feingold (D-Wis.) reintroduced his Buy American Improvement Act on Wednesday to help American workers and manufacturing.
Feingold’s proposed legislation would help close loopholes in current law that have allowed federals agencies to circumvent Buy American requirements. The requirements, which date back to 1933, were created to help ensure the federal government buys U.S.-made goods for federal procurement projects.
Feingold’s Buy American Improvement Act will make it harder to waive certain provisions of the Buy American Act and improve transparency in the law by, among other things, requiring federal agencies to publish requests for waivers and waivers granted under the Buy American Act on their websites so that American taxpayers and workers can see how well the federal government is doing at supporting U.S. workers.
“The federal government needs to be held accountable on whether it is supporting hard-working Americans," Feingold said. “My legislation will help close loopholes in current law that have allowed federal agencies to evade the Buy American Act. By purchasing American-made goods whenever possible, our federal government will send a simple message to American workers: We support you.”
Reintroduction of Feingold’s Buy American Improvement Act builds on his recent effort to call on the Obama Administration to include strong Buy American requirements in any legislative proposals developed at the White House Jobs summit earlier this month. Feingold is also working to support American workers by drafting a jobs tax credit bill that would establish a temporary jobs tax credit to encourage firms to hire more workers. The Buy American legislation is supported by the International Association of Machinists (IAMAW), United Steelworkers (USW), AFL-CIO and Wisconsin AFL-CIO.
Congressman Daniel Lipinski (D-Ill.) introduced companion legislation Wednesday in the House of Representatives.
