“He believes that we can rebuild the vitality of American manufacturing and our industrial strength. A large part of this is centered on the idea that when we use taxpayer money to rebuild America, we buy Americans and support American jobs,” said the official.
The order follows others signed by Biden last week directing additional aid to the neediest Americans, as well as starting the process of raising the minimum wage for federal contractors and workers to $ 15 an hour.
Closing gaps in federal purchases
Currently, a patchwork of federal rules requires that a portion of government spending on things like infrastructure, vehicles and other equipment be restricted to goods made in the United States. But there are gaps depending on the material, the purchase price and what qualifies as American.
Biden’s executive order will change the way national content is defined and measured for qualified products, as well as increase the required limit. It will also create a senior position in the Management and Budget Office to oversee the process by which contractors can request exemptions from Buy American rules, with the aim of reducing the number of exemptions granted.
Management will also create a public website that will publish all requests for exemptions and direct agencies to proactively connect with small American manufacturers that are often left out of the process.
What happened to Trump’s promised momentum
The pandemic hit manufacturing hard while the rest of the economy slowed. The sector is still down 543,000 jobs since February 2020, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
“Trump talked about buying and hiring American a lot, but his executive orders didn’t mean much,” said Scott Paul, president of Alliance for American Manufacturing.
“There is an opportunity here for Joe Biden to really be a ‘Made in America’ president,” he added.