And, no surprise, Buy America’s one of them.
The nonprofit Century Foundation has released a set of actions policymakers can take to better support the revitalization of manufacturing communities. The recommendations come as part of the nonprofit’s High Wage America Project, which aims to bring high wage industries, like manufacturing, back to America’s heartland.
The foundation recommends the following nine steps to combat deindustrialization:
- Avert layoffs.
- Buy America.
- Reshore.
- Foster sector partnerships.
- Nurture industrial apprenticeships.
- Increase the number of minorities and women in manufacturing.
- Invest in innovation.
- Invest responsibly.
- Create state manufacturing task forces.
We couldn’t agree more that these policies are critical to restoring family-supporting manufacturing jobs, but the Century Foundation’s Buy America recommendation, in particular, stands out. After all, it is Infrastructure Week, and America is desperately in need of rebuilding!
Though the federal government is already required to utilize domestic materials in federally funded projects like bridge construction, the foundation counsels state governments to strengthen their own commitments to utilizing made in America goods for state-funded projects, ensuring that endeavors that are not currently covered by federal Buy America laws are addressed by state laws.
In fortifying Buy America regulations on both federal and state levels, taxpayer dollars would be reinvested into manufacturing communities rather than sent abroad.
“Every day states spend hard-earned taxpayer dollars on infrastructure,” the Century Foundation explains in its report. “Spending that money on Made-in-America products keeps our money in the economy, supporting good paying manufacturing jobs and companies that pay local taxes.”
As a model for state action on Buy America provisions, the foundation points to New York and Texas, both of which extended Buy America regulations in 2017.
The Century Foundation also recommends that state-funded projects prioritize the use of Made in America iron and steel as these materials are often the easiest to identify and label as domestically sourced.
Policymakers would be wise to follow the Century Foundation’s advice as recent polling shows that 80% of likely voters back Buy America policies, and 81% say infrastructure is one of the most important policy issues right now.
If you, too, are ready to see America’s crumbling roads, bridges and water systems fixed, tell President Trump and your Members of Congress that it’s time to take infrastructure seriously and support Buy America.