CHESHIRE — Concerned over billions of dollars and hundreds of thousands of Buy American Act waivers used by the federal government, U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy sounded the alarm Thursday about what he calls the U.S. Department of Defense's ?overuse of these waivers.
The Connecticut Democrat was visiting Marion Manufacturing, an aerospace, medical and auto parts manufacturer.
Murphy charged that, rather than investing in American manufacturers and job creation, the Defense Department has granted 307,123 waivers and exceptions to the Buy American Act over the last eight years. The department has spent more than $176.8 billion of taxpayers?f dollars on goods manufactured by foreign companies.
The senator said that even as the DOD's reliance on waivers overall has decreased, the number of waivers used for shipbuilding and aerospace products — two of Connecticut?fs most important manufacturing sectors — remains steady. This $5.4 billion ?gwasted opportunity,?h which could have had an outsized positive impact on Connecticut, has instead cost Connecticut jobs, Murphy said.
Murphy said, "There's a real fear we won't have a trained workforce to meet the coming demands in the shipbuilding and aerospace industries. We need to continue to expand manufacturing training programs or work will be going to other states.
Buy American Act waivers are intended to allow federal agencies to purchase goods or services from foreign companies, but only in extraordinary circumstances: for example, when an American-made item is unavailable or will increase the cost of a product to prohibitively high levels.
However, Murphy says that, to the detriment of American manufacturers and companies, federal agencies overuse their waiver authority without considering the long- and short-term effects on U.S. employment.
After Murphy raised awareness about this overuse of funds, the number of Buy American Act waivers has decreased. Still, the number, he says, is far too high.
"People are outraged that their taxpayer dollars are being used to create jobs overseas, instead of here in America," Murphy said. ?"Too many talented, hardworking manufacturing workers in Connecticut are out of work because the federal government isn't doing enough to prioritize American jobs when making purchases."
The senator added that "we should be doing everything in our power to create new American jobs, bolster our country's manufacturing sector, and grow opportunities for the middle class; it's time the Department of Defense put American workers and businesses first."
Murphy has led several initiatives and introduced numerous pieces of legislation in an effort to protect and grow manufacturing jobs in Connecticut, and to put a stop to what he calls the DoD's "outrageous misuse of Buy American waivers." Last week, he offered an amendment to ?"fast track" trade legislation that would protect American companies from Buy American provisions. However, Senate Republicans blocked his amendment from a vote.
"I don't think we ought to use a measure that's supposed to be timely, temporary and targeted to set off trade wars when the entire world is experiencing a downturn in the economy," Senate Majority Leader, Republican Mitch McConnell of Kentucky told the International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development. "It's a bad idea to put [the amendment] in a bill like this, which is supposed to be about jump-starting the economy."
