Legislation Eliminates Loopholes
That Allow the Government to Purchase
Products Manufactured Outside the United States
July 29, 2003 Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Russ Feingold
today introduced legislation aimed at strengthening the 1933 Buy American
Act and protecting jobs both in Wisconsin and across the country. Feingold's
bill would strengthen the Buy American Act by making it harder to waive
the Act's requirements that the government buy American made goods.
It would also require that information be provided to Congress and to
the American people about how often the Act is waived by federal departments
and agencies. A summary of the bill is attached.
"The erosion of our manufacturing base needs to
be stopped, and Congress should support policies that help to ensure
that we do not continue to lose jobs in this vital segment of our economy,"
Feingold said. "It only makes sense for the federal government
to make every effort to purchase goods that are made in America."
Numbers from Wisconsin's Department of Workforce Development
indicate that the state has lost more than 77,000 manufacturing jobs
in two-and-a-half years.
"The goal of the Buy American Act is for the federal
government to buy goods that are made in America, whether it's Wisconsin
or another state," Feingold said. "American companies deserve
to know that they are not being shut out of this process by the loopholes
that exist in the current law. 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."
This legislation is supported by Save American Manufacturing,
the AFL-CIO, the U.S. Business and Industry Council, the International
Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, Milwaukee Valve Company,
and the Wisconsin AFL-CIO.
The Buy American Improvement Act of 2003
Under current law, the federal government is supposed
to protect American jobs by buying goods made in the U.S. But the law
is full of loopholes. The Buy American Improvement Act of 2003, introduced
by Senator Russ Feingold on July 29, 2003, will strengthen American
manufacturing by making it harder to waive the Buy American requirement.
* Currently, heads of federal agencies have broad discretion
to waive the requirement by determining that it is "inconsistent
with the public interest" to comply, even after a contract has
been opened up for bids.
Feingold's bill will prohibit agencies from invoking the public interest
waiver after a request for bids has been published in the Federal Register.
* Heads of agencies can also waive the requirement if
they determine that the lowest domestic bid is "unreasonable in
cost." Feingold's bill would support American jobs by amending
the unreasonable cost waiver to give domestic bidders, or sole domestic
source bidders, preference when their bids are substantially the same
as their foreign competitors.
* Federal agencies are permitted to waive the requirement
if the goods purchased are to be used outside of the United States.
Feingold's bill would require federal agencies to conduct an analysis
of the difference in cost for obtaining certain goods outside the U.S.
versus from a domestic source, including shipping costs, prior to invoking
this waiver.
* The requirement can also be waived if it is determined
that the needed item is not available from domestic sources "in
sufficient and reasonably available commercial quantities and of a satisfactory
quality." Feingold's bill would require federal agencies to conduct
a study to determine whether domestic production can be initiated to
meet procurement needs and whether there is a comparable item available
from a domestic source before invoking the domestic availability waiver.
The bill also:
* Requires all federal agencies to submit annual reports
on items purchased from foreign sources, including an itemized list
of all waivers under the Act, with dollar values. Currently, only the
Department of Defense is required to submit such a report.
* Increases the Buy American Act qualifying content
standard from the current 50 percent to 75 percent.
* Requires the General Accounting Office to report to
Congress with recommendations for defining the terms "inconsistent
with the public interest" and "unreasonable cost" for
purposes of invoking the corresponding waivers in the Act. These broad
terms, which grant wide latitude to agency heads, are not defined in
federal law.
* Addresses the crucial issue of dual-use technologies
by prohibiting the awarding of a contract or sub-contract to a foreign
company to manufacture goods containing any item that is classified
as a dual-use item on the Commerce Control List unless approval for
such a contract has been obtained through the Export Administration
Act process. |
