Schauer Urges President to Support 'Buy American' Provisions in Recovery Package
Helping American workers and businesses should be top priority
Washington,
Feb 10, 2009 -
Today U.S. Rep. Mark Schauer (D-Battle Creek) joined Democratic and Republican members of Congress in sending a letter to President Barack Obama urging him to support ‘Buy American’ provisions in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
“The announcement of more job cuts today at GM just underscores how critical it is for the federal government to support American workers and businesses during this time of economic crisis,” said Schauer. “By enforcing our existing ‘Buy American’ laws and making their application more transparent, we can maximize the impact of this recovery package and create jobs now.”
A copy of the letter is available below.
# # #
The Honorable Barack H. Obama
President of the United States
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Ave. NW
Washington, DC 20500
Dear President Obama:
As you know all too well, America faces a recession that could linger for years and an unemployment rate nearing double digits. In response, Congress is considering the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, an immediate and dramatic measure designed to jumpstart our economy. White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs has indicated that your administration is reviewing “Buy American” provisions in the bill, and we write today to urge you to support such provisions.
Despite our differences on the merits of some items in the Recovery Act, we can all agree that any money spent under the banner of “stimulus” should directly create or retain American jobs to the greatest degree possible. The stimulus package contains investments in our transportation, education, and energy infrastructures. While this kind of spending is guaranteed to support good-paying construction jobs for American workers, the purchase of American-made materials and equipment will underscore and multiply those benefits.
In addition to the steel needed to rebuild our bridges, American companies are ready to produce the insulation, windows, solar panels, smart meters, fiber optics, advanced batteries, and other goods called for in this package. Strong “Buy American” provisions will help ensure that this happens wherever practicable.
Although the Buy American Act of 1933 ostensibly requires the federal government to buy from domestic suppliers, its provisions are frequently waived, often for the vague reason that it is in “the public interest” to do so. You have rightly emphasized that transparency is an essential component of good government. This is true nowhere more so than in a spending bill of this magnitude. We hope that you will seize this opportunity to make the application of any “Buy American” laws more transparent by requiring that applications for waivers be publicly posted on the website Recovery.gov along with a detailed justification for any waivers granted.
We recognize that there are legitimate justifications for granting waivers. We also believe that it is in the public interest to “Buy American.” Homegrown manufacturing capabilities are not only vital to the American economy but also a national security imperative. We cannot afford to lose our nation’s competitive edge or the productive foundation of our economy.
We are not looking to erect trade barriers, only to help assure American taxpayers that their money is being directly spent to create or retain American jobs to the greatest degree possible. Spending the nearly $1 trillion in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act here at home is prudent policy and will help America get back to work.
Thank you for your time and attention regarding this critical issue.
Sincerely,
Daniel Lipinski (D-IL)
Member of Congress
Donald Manzullo (R-IL)
Member of Congress
Mark Schauer (D-MI)
Member of Congress
Cc: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi
