Source: United States Senator for Connecticut – Chris Murphy
July 28, 2021
WASHINGTON—U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) on Wednesday issued the following statement on the Biden administration’s new proposed rule to increase American-made content in federal purchases and bolster critical supply chains:
“It’s simple: American taxpayer dollars should be used to support American products and workers,” said Murphy. “President Biden’s proposed rule to encourage the government to Buy American and bolster critical supply chains will help manufacturers across Connecticut and our country, and help strengthen domestic supply chains at a time it’s desperately needed. It’s also great news that the president is seeking to increase transparency and accountability around Buy American rules—which my legislation has called for—so we can see real data on goods purchased by the U.S. government. This is a win all around.”
This year, Murphy reintroduced the 21st Century Buy American Act, legislation would strengthen existing Buy American laws to eliminate loopholes and ensure government procurement prioritizes American-made goods, and would create up to 100,000 jobs according to the non-partisan Economic Policy Institute.
Murphy also introduced the American Jobs Matter Act, which he originally introduced as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives and would require the Department of Defense for the first time to measure the impact of its purchasing decisions on the domestic labor force. Under this proposed legislation, the U.S. government would be required to take into account the number of American jobs created or retained by manufacturers and those manufacturers’ overall impact on the U.S. economy when awarding federal contracts.
Murphy also is an original cosponsor of the bipartisan BuyAmerican.gov Act which passed earlier this year as a part of the U.S. Innovation and Competition Act. This legislation will establish a centralized online hub to increase transparency and ensure federal agencies prioritize the purchase of American-made goods in compliance with existing law. Under current law, federal agencies may use domestic content waivers to Buy American laws to purchase goods or services from foreign companies only in certain circumstances: for example, when an American-made good is unavailable or will significantly increase the cost of a product. However, there is currently no easily accessible government-wide system tracking the use and abuse of these waivers by federal agencies.
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