Dorgan Publishes USA Today Op-Ed Demanding Passage of Buy America Law

by: David Sirota

Mon Feb 02, 2009 at 13:57

Here's a thought. If we want to stimulate the American economy and create new jobs here, we ought to be investing in American-made products with the stimulus money.

A radical proposition? Hardly. But when I added "Buy American" language to the economic recovery bill making its way through the Senate, a lot of big interests that have a habit of moving American jobs overseas began to scream foul.

If the goal of the economic recovery plan is to create American jobs, then it stands to reason that the Buy American provision is essential. My language simply says that any public works or public building projects - such as roads, bridges, tunnels or schools - funded by the stimulus bill should be built with American-made steel, iron and other manufactured goods.

Of course, I recognize that there are a variety of products that are not made in this country anymore, and there also might be instances where U.S. products are not sufficient - either in quantity or quality. So my provision allows for these common-sense exceptions. But it just makes sense that, where possible, we try to stimulate our own economy, rather than the economy of other countries.

Dorgan is right - Buy America laws are hardly radical. But because the center of elite opinion in Washington, D.C. is one that says outsourcing jobs is good for the American economy, these commonsense laws are portrayed as "controversial" - even if the vast majority of Americans support them.

Get in touch with your senator and tell him/her to resist the corporate lobbying campaign against Buy America and support these laws in the stimulus package.