Mark Dayton: “I acknowledge this current administration in charge of the Department of Defense is entitled to its point of view. I…”

“I acknowledge this current administration in charge of the Department of Defense is entitled to its point of view. I point out my amendment returns us to current law. That has worked and has given to Secretaries of Defense, including the present one, discretion to do what the Senator from Arizona described has already been enacted or put in effect in terms of defense procurement. It also, however, says that American jobs are important. At this point in time when we have lost 2.8 million jobs in this country since this administration took office, I think this is symptomatic of their lack of awareness and concern for employing Americans and doing so whenever possible or putting them back to work. For this Congress and the Senate to take the position, with 2.8 million people out of work in the last 2 rac{1}{2} years looking for jobs, exhausting their unemployment benefits because they cannot find jobs, to say we cannot even be bothered to try to buy American before we go elsewhere I think is shameful. I yield the floor.”