Brown Applauds Biden-harris Administration's Strong "Buy America' Proposed Rule For Taxpayer-funded Purchases
Press Release
WASHINGTON, DC -- Today, U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) is applauding the Biden-Harris administration's commitment to American manufacturing with its new proposed rule requiring the federal government to buy more products made in America.
"It's simple: American tax dollars should go toward projects and products that support American jobs," said Brown. "I'm glad the president is continuing to keep his promise to advance strong Buy America rules that protect taxpayer money and support good-paying jobs. Now, Congress needs to build on this progress by sending my bipartisan "Build American Buy America Act' to the president's desk."
The federal government spends nearly half of its $600 billion annual procurement budget on manufactured products. The rule proposed today would require the federal government to buy more American-made products; would require contractors provide more data on the goods they purchase; and would lift the current threshold for what is considered American-made from 55 percent to 75 percent, meaning more tax-payer money would stay in America and go to American companies and workers.
Brown's Build America, Buy America Act would implement "Buy America' rules on infrastructure projects across the board -- ensuring that American taxpayer dollars are used to buy American-made iron, steel, and manufactured products for any federally-funded infrastructure projects. Brown introduced the bipartisan bill with Sens. Rob Portman (R-OH), Gary Peters (D-MI), and Mike Braun (R-IN).
"Loopholes mean many federal infrastructure projects do not follow "Buy America' rules. That means, too often, foreign materials are used to construct taxpayer-funded highways, roads, bridges, and water and energy infrastructure projects," said Brown. "These products should be produced in the United States by American workers."
Brown's Build America, Buy America Act would fix current loopholes and ensure the "Buy America' statute actually results in the purchase of American-made iron, steel, and manufactured products for all federally-funded infrastructure projects.
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