Hinchey Returning Substance to Substantially All American
So far this month, 43 members of the U.S. House of Representatives have submitted remarks to the Congressional Record in which they speak on the importance of restoring and protecting American jobs. A bill introduced to the U.S. Congress this month gives them an opportunity to take action in alignment with their words.
Rep. Maurice Hinchey is the author of H.R. 2423, the Buy American Enhancement Act. The bill is an effort to curb the erosion of the original Buy American Act, a law that reads:
…only such unmanufactured articles, materials, and supplies as have been mined or produced in the United States, and only such manufactured articles, materials, and supplies as have been manufactured in the United States substantially all from articles, materials, or supplies mined, produced, or manufactured, as the case may be, in the United States, shall be acquired for public use.
Federal agencies have made a loose interpretation of the phrase “substantially all,” requiring that only 50% of an item has to be of American origin to meet the standard of the Act. Hinchey’s bill would make the meaning of the phrase “substantially all” explicit, raising the standard to 75%.
Despite frequent words uttered by members of Congress in support of American jobs, to date not one member has added his or her cosponsorship to Hinchey’s bill.
