[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 29 (Thursday, February 12, 2009)]
[House]
[Page H1302]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            STIMULUS MONEY NEEDS TO PURCHASE AMERICAN GOODS

  (Mr. TIM MURPHY of Pennsylvania asked and was given permission to 
address the House for 1 minute.)
  Mr. TIM MURPHY of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, thank you so much.
  I just want to add one other element to what's being discussed here.
  As the final moments are taking place in putting together this 
economic stimulus package, I'm still holding out a little bit of hope 
that we can put some things in there that protect American jobs.
  There is a segment in the bill, we think, that would say that steel 
used in transportation infrastructure would be bought in America. There 
is no provisions yet that say that $600 million worth of cars purchased 
would be bought in America, $400 million worth of buses would be bought 
in America, hundreds of millions of dollars worth of furniture for 
Federal buildings would be bought in America, $1 billion worth of 
computers.
  It is so important. This is not a violation of any treaty. It's clear 
that when a Nation is spending money to create jobs, we ought to be 
creating those jobs in this country. We love other countries, but we 
can't trade with other countries if we don't have the money to buy 
their products.
  I still hope this is part of what may end up in this bill. The 
American people are depending on it. I hate to see our dollars go 
overseas or where we're borrowing money from other countries. Let's 
make sure it's used to purchase American goods.

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