Washington, D.C. — The Biden administration on Wednesday unveiled new actions to strengthen federal Buy American preferences, including increasing domestic content requirements, creating a new framework for products deemed essential to national security, and increasing transparency and accountability for contractors that do business with the federal government.
President Biden is expected to travel to Pennsylvania later today to promote Buy American and the importance of good-paying manufacturing jobs.
Alliance for American Manufacturing President Scott Paul said:
“We commend the Biden administration for taking another meaningful step today to strengthen Buy American. Ensuring the federal government reinvests tax dollars in American workers, businesses, and communities is common sense. But for too long, the law has been weakened by loopholes, waivers, lax oversight, and overly permissive rules that allowed too many foreign goods to be purchased with tax dollars.
“That meant lost opportunities for American manufacturers — and lost jobs for American workers.
“Together with its previous actions to name the first-ever Made in America Director at the Office of Management and Budget, examine supply chain resiliency, and rein in Buy American waivers, the administration is putting American workers and businesses in a better position to benefit when the government purchases goods. There is much more work to be done, and we look forward to working with the administration to continue to improve Buy American policies.”
Buy American is popular among Americans across the aisle. A poll conducted by the Mellman Group and Public Opinion Strategies found that 80% of respondents support requiring that taxpayer-funded infrastructure projects use American-made goods and materials.