Merkley Plan to Create Family-Wage Jobs: End Outsourcing, Buy American

As the Oregon and nation enter a recession, families around the country are struggling to make ends meet. Record numbers of homes are in foreclosure. Oregon has lost more than 70,000 jobs due to disastrous unfair trade agreements such as the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA). Regular families have been left in the cold, and the time for change has come.

When Jeff Merkley sees unfair trade deals and jobs being outsourced overseas, he thinks about communities like the one he grew up in. He remembers how his family had to move from town to town so his father could find work.

Jeff knows we can’t keep trading away good, family-wage, Oregon jobs. Unfair trade agreements – like NAFTA and CAFTA – and corporate tax loopholes have cost our state more than 70,000 jobs. Jeff will end unfair trade deals that outsource jobs overseas and will and reward companies that create good jobs here in Oregon.

In 2006, Jeff led a band of progressives to take back the Oregon House and help put Oregon back on track. Creating jobs was one of their top priorities, and as Speaker of the House, Jeff helped to create more than 17,000 jobs for Oregon families.[Bureau of Labor Statistics, accessed March 14, 2008] As Oregon’s U.S. Senator, Jeff will put an end to the policies of Gordon Smith and George Bush, who have worked night and day to outsource every last American manufacturing job, and will ensure that our nation is investing in good, family-wage job creation in Oregon and across the country.

Buy American Act
Congress passed the Buy American Act (BAA) in 1933, in the middle of the Great Depression, to give domestic manufacturers advantages over foreign competitors in obtaining government contracts. Today, the BAA is widely regarded as porous, complex, and often ignored by government procurement officials.

As Oregon’s Senator, Jeff Merkley will strengthen the Buy American Act, so the federal government is investing in creating jobs in America and not sending jobs overseas.

Strengthening the Buy American Act
As U.S. Senator, Jeff will work with U.S. Senator Russ Feingold (D-WI) to create family-wage jobs in America by strengthening the Buy American Act. Specifically, the plan would:

• Prevent federal agencies from waiving the BAA in the “public interest” after a request for proposals has been publicized.

• Alter the “unreasonable cost” waiver to grant domestic or sole domestic source bidders, preferred status when their bids are considerably similar to foreign competitors.

• Require federal agencies to analyze and report the difference in cost of obtaining certain foreign versus domestic goods, including shipping costs, prior to invoking any waiver.

• Command federal agencies to determine whether domestic production could be started up to meet agency needs and whether there are comparable items accessible and obtainable from domestic sources before invoking any waiver.

• Mandate goods to be at least 75 percent American-made to be eligible under the BAA – an increase from the current 50 percent.

• Require annual reports to Congress on goods obtained from foreign suppliers, including all waivers under the BAA applicable to all agencies for 5 years. Previously, only the Defense Department was required to submit a similar report.

• Direct the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to report to Congress with recommendations for defining the terms “inconsistent with the public interest” and “unreasonable cost” for purposes of invoking the corresponding waivers in the Act. These terms are not defined by federal law and grant too much leeway to agencies.
  

Simplifying the Law
Because of ambiguous language in the law and insufficient training for contracting managers in federal agencies, many contracts ignore BAA requirements. A 2002 audit of procurements of military clothing showed that 60 percent of the contracts reviewed did not even include the appropriate contract clause to comply with the act. [Department of Defense, Office of the Inspector General, “Acquisition: Buy American Act Issues on Procurements of Military Clothing,” at i, March 20, 2002] The Inspector General’s office reported, “We believe the complexity of the guidance and the number of exemptions, exceptions, and waiver authorities make it difficult for contracting officers to understand what is necessary to meet the requirements of the Buy American Act.” [Ibid., at 6] The Inspector General recommended more training for managers to come into compliance with the BAA.

We must reduce the numbers of exemptions, exceptions and waivers available to the president and federal agencies. As Senator, Jeff Merkley would strengthen the BAA by making it simpler. He would fight to reduce the abilities of the executive branch to avoid its obligations to the American people to create good jobs by Buying American. Jeff will work to ensure that government employees understand the laws that they must implement.

Ensuring Compliance

In 2005, the Department of Homeland Security conducted an audit of its compliance with BAA requirements.[Department of Homeland Security, Office of Inspector General, “Audit of Buy American Act Compliance,” June 2005.] The audit reported that while the provisions of the act were sufficient for ensuring compliance with the act, DHS had not implemented all the requirements. The audit turned up more than $165 million in goods produced overseas, including helicopters, pistols, and emergency radio beacons. This is unacceptable.

As Oregon’s Junior U.S. Senator, Jeff Merkley will work to ensure that federal agencies comply with the BAA. Jeff will push for a simplification of departmental procurement procedures so that agencies know which of their goods are foreign-made and which are made here in the U.S.

Posted March 17, 2008
Press

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