Russ Feingold: “I have come to this floor on several occasions this year to discuss the crisis in American manufacturing and some steps…”

“I have come to this floor on several occasions this year to discuss the crisis in American manufacturing and some steps that I think Congress should take to stop the flow of manufacturing jobs overseas. One step that I believe we should take to support American manufacturers is to ensure that the Federal Government buys American-made goods whenever reasonably possible. Congress enacted such a policy when it passed the Buy American Act of 1933. This law was enacted to ensure that the Federal Government supports domestic companies and domestic workers by buying American-made goods. However, the Buy American Act includes a number of waiver provisions which allow agencies to buy foreign-made goods in certain defined circumstances. I am concerned that agencies may be using these waiver provisions to get around the spirit, if not the letter, of the law. That's why, earlier this year, I introduced the Buy American Improvement Act, which would strengthen the existing act by tightening its waiver provisions. Unfortunately, it's virtually impossible to get hard numbers on the Federal Government's purchases of foreign- and domestic-made goods.”