Garamendi reintroduced his ‘Buy American’ bill

Garamendi has reintroduced legislation to ensure that infrastructure projects prioritize materials made in US.

Rep. John Garamendi, DSolano, has reintroduced legislation to ensure that all federal infrastructure projects prioritize the utilization of materials made in America. This time, he has the support of two United States senators from both sides of the aisle who have joined him in bringing the bill to Congress.

Garamendi reintroduced the “Made in America Act” Tuesday with the support of senators Tammy Baldwin, D-Wisconsin; and Mike Braun, R-Indiana. The proposed bill identifies federal government initiatives financing infrastructure projects that are not currently subject to “Buy America” standards and guarantees that the construction materials used in the taxpayer-funded projects, such as iron and steel, are made in the United States, according to a news release by Garamendi’s office. The bill also seeks to require the U.S. Department of Commerce to ensure that the manufacturing processes support domestic jobs.

“Congress is poised to make the most significant investment in our nation’s infrastructure in nearly half a century,” Garamendi said in a statement. “This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to advance commonsense ‘Buy American’ and ‘Make it in America’ policies to rebuild and modernize our nation’s crumbling infrastructure with American workers and materials. This will create thousands of good-paying jobs that can never be outsourced and make America competitive in the 21st century.”

Garamendi also said the legislation would “create new opportunities to grow the American middle-class.”

Baldwin said in a statement that American workers and goods should be prioritized in any federal infrastructure project.

“We need to make a bold investment that puts people to work rebuilding our nation’s infrastructure and I want to make sure that we do it by supporting American workers and American manufacturers,” she said. “We should not spend taxpayer dollars on infrastructure projects that are not subject to Buy America requirements. My legislation will make sure we are buying what America makes when we rebuild our infrastructure.”

Braun, who founded Meyer Distributing in his home state, said in a statement that he had firsthand experience in business and felt the Make it in America Act would help businesses and their employees throughout the country.

“This legislation ensures taxpayer dollars help American business owners, which is especially important as we recover from the global pandemic,” he said.

Garamendi has been a proponent of “Buy American” policies for as long has he has been in office and has introduced legislation to mandate that school districts buy domestically sourced ingredients for meals. Back in March, the congressman joined other representatives for an Oval Office meeting with President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg to encourage support for including “Buy American” standards in the infrastructure package currently being developed in Congress.

The full text of the bill can be read at Baldwin’s website at Baldwin.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/ Made%20in%20America%20Act%20Final.pdf.