Votes to Pass Buy America Provisions for Congress and Department of Homeland Security

Washington, DC - Congressman Maurice Hinchey (D-NY) is continuing his work to boost the U.S. manufacturing sector by ensuring that Congress and the Department of Homeland Security purchase products that are made in America. Today he voted for two bills, the Congressional Made in America Promise Act and the Berry Amendment Extension Act, as part of a "Make it in America" national manufacturing strategy he is supporting to create high-skill, high-wage jobs in New York and throughout the country.

"In the last six months, we've seen the creation of more than 135,000 manufacturing jobs nationwide," said Hinchey. "It's an encouraging sign, but it's not enough. That's why I'm continuing to work to rebuild our manufacturing base by requiring Congress and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to purchase products that are made by U.S. workers. These bills, in concert with other bills I've supported will create a national manufacturing strategy and close tax loopholes to stop companies from shipping jobs overseas, and bring good, high-paying jobs to New York where they are badly needed."

The Berry Amendment Extension Act bars the Department of Homeland Security from buying clothing, tents and other products that are not “grown, reprocessed, reused or produced” in America. For the last 60 years, the Berry Amendment required the Defense Department and the Coast Guard to buy a range of domestically produced or grown items with 100 percent U.S. content. The bill passed today would include Department of Homeland Security under the Berry Amendment rules.

Hinchey has recently toured several small businesses and manufacturing companies throughout the congressional district he represents. In Newburgh, he met with representatives from Newburgh Metals, which fabricates a wide range of products including floors and ceilings for rail cars, to discuss the need for infrastructure investments that will create jobs up and down the transportation supply line. In Ithaca, he met with representatives from 26 Tompkins small businesses to discuss the need for additional tax credits and a Small Business Lending Fund to free up lines of credit that froze after the financial meltdown in 2008. In Ulster, he visited Solartech Renewables, where the first high-volume, commercial solar panels made by a U.S.-owned company in the eastern United States are now being produced. There he discussed the need for strategic partnerships and business clusters, like The Solar Energy Consortium, which he helped establish.

Hinchey has been a long standing opponent of unfair trade deals like the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) because they cause the exportation of U.S. jobs out of the country. He is a cosponsor of the Trade Reform, Accountability, Development and Employment Act (TRADE Act), which would require a comprehensive review of major trade agreements on the books, ensure that environmental labor and human rights standards are addressed in future agreements, and give Congress the authority it needs to assert its proper constitutional role in the trade negotiating process by significantly limiting future fast-track authority.

Hinchey is also working to end ongoing currency manipulation by China. He recently signed a letter to the House leadership expressing concern about ongoing Chinese currency manipulation and requested that H.R. 2378, the Currency Reform for Fair Trade Act, be brought to the floor for a vote. This legislation would allow for the imposition of countervailing or anti-dumping duties on injurious imports from any country that persistently undervalues its currency.