In 2011, the U.S. Department of Defense bought bronze towel bars for U.S. Army barracks in Alaska from a Chinese company because it claimed the product wasn’t made by any U.S. manufacturer. Yet a simple Google search would have found Colonial Bronze, Inc., a Torrington-based company.
For years, Ansonia Specialty Metals was the sole U.S. supplier of copper-nickel tubing for military ships and submarines. But two years ago, the U.S. government awarded its contract for copper-nickel tubing to a Mexican company, forcing the Waterbury factory to close and dozens of workers to lose their jobs.
We have laws in this country that are supposed to prevent these situations — “Buy American” laws. They are in place to help ensure that the billions in taxpayer money we spend on government contracts go to U.S. manufacturers and U.S. workers, not foreign competitors.
But I’ve heard from manufacturers across Connecticut, and they tell me that Buy American laws in this country are utterly broken. It’s shocking how many blatant violations occur every day. But overt violations are not the whole story — our Buy American laws are riddled with legal loopholes that allow the U.S. government to routinely bypass American manufacturers legally.
Over the last 10 years, the U.S. Department of Defense has granted more than 300,000 lawful waivers to the Buy American Act and spent over $176.8 billion on foreign-made goods. That’s $176.8 billion not going to U.S. manufacturers like those right here in Connecticut.
While some of the exceptions make sense — like buying from a foreign company if there are no U.S. suppliers or if the price isn’t competitive — others, like the vague “public interest waiver” that ignores the impact of foreign contracts on American jobs, do not.
There are simple steps Congress should take to crack down on violations and strengthen our Buy American laws so taxpayer money goes to manufacturing jobs here at home.
First, we should audit every federal government agency to ensure compliance of existing Buy American and Berry Amendment laws. The track record isn’t good. Recent audits of the U.S. Navy and U.S. Air Force found an outrageous number of violations. Forty percent of U.S. Navy contracts and one-third of U.S. Air Force contracts studied violated the law, costing American manufacturers more than $200 billion in business over the last five years.
I find it deeply troubling that the people in charge of Pentagon purchasing don’t even know how to follow existing law. Failure to comply with Buy American laws weakens our national security and pushes jobs overseas. Greater transparency through more frequent audits will help expose the extent of the problem and draw attention to the need for solutions, like better staff training. My amendments requiring audits of agencies like the U.S. Department of Defense and the Federal Aviation Administration have successfully passed Congress, and I won’t stop until we hold all government agencies accountable.
In addition to better enforcement of the laws we already have on the books, part of the solution needs to be fixing the law and closing some of its most egregious loopholes.
I introduced the 21st Century Buy American Act to crack down on overused waivers, increase the domestic content requirement, and provide resources for U.S. manufacturers that produce items in short supply to help them compete for federal contracts.
Finally, Congress should affirm one simple principle — supporting U.S. jobs must be a priority.
My American Jobs Matter Act requires the Pentagon to give preference to American manufacturers when awarding federal defense contracts. Most people assume that this already happens, but it doesn’t. Every job that we create overseas by awarding contracts to foreign firms is one fewer job here in America.
I’ve made it my mission in Congress to fix our broken Buy American laws. The U.S. government shouldn’t needlessly send taxpayer dollars overseas. It should buy goods produced right here at home — supporting American manufacturers and local jobs in the process.
This isn’t a partisan issue — it’s one Democrats and Republicans can actually agree on. It’s time for Congress to close the Buy American loopholes.
Chris Murphy is the junior senator from Connecticut. He serves on the Foreign Relations Committee, the Appropriations Committee, and the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee.
