[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 77 (Wednesday, May 21, 2014)]
[House]
[Page H4690]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
21ST CENTURY BUY AMERICA ACT
(Mr. CICILLINE asked and was given permission to address the House
for 1 minute.)
Mr. CICILLINE. Mr. Speaker, tomorrow, I will introduce the 21st
Century Buy America Act with Senator Chris Murphy, to modernize
decades-old Buy American standards and help create new manufacturing
jobs in the United States.
Congress should make sure that American taxpayer dollars are used to
buy goods manufactured here at home, not overseas, whenever we can.
Our bill will strengthen existing Buy America standards and make a
number of important changes to support our domestic manufacturing base.
For example, it will make manufacturers of items in short supply here
at home eligible for resources to help them compete against foreign
manufacturers for U.S. government contracts.
In addition, this bill increases transparency requirements for
agencies that provide waivers, and it increases the domestic content
percentage requirement so that, to qualify as American-made, you have
to prove that a majority of the materials are actually made right here
in America.
Most importantly, this legislation will help grow our manufacturing
sector and create new jobs by providing an increased demand for
American-made products by the Federal Government.
It is time to bring manufacturing back to America and to support
existing manufacturing, and the United States Government should lead by
example.
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