The IAM is again leading the charge to strengthen Buy American requirements for defense procurement.
Working closely with U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) and U.S. Rep. Donald Norcross (D-NJ), the IAM is encouraging members of Congress to support amendments to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that would raise Buy American requirements for major defense acquisition programs to 100 percent domestic content. The measures would bolster economic and national security and create good, middle-class jobs.
“Buy American policies serve the public good by targeting our tax dollars for the purchase of American made products and services, thereby employing U.S. workers and putting our federal tax receipts to work here at home,” said IAM International President Robert Martinez Jr. “For far too long we have neglected to properly consider the impact of defense procurement policy on our domestic industrial base and, consequently, on the U.S. economy. We as a nation need to act strategically when it comes to defense procurement.”
Read Martinez’s letter to the House and Senate supporting Buy America.
“We must understand that the foundation of our industrial base lies with the skills and abilities of the American worker,” said Martinez. “These amendments would help ensure that our tax dollars are used to support the U.S. workforce and the firms who employ them.”
The proposed amendments would immediately increase Buy American requirements for major defense acquisition programs to 75 percent domestic content and then increase the percentage by 5 percent per year, until a 100 percent domestic content requirement is reached in 2026.