The U.S. Senate has passed Senator Mark Dayton?s amendment to require the newly-created Department of Homeland Security to buy American products when purchasing materials, supplies, and labor. The Minnesota Democrat said his amendment, added Wednesday to the $28.5 billion bill funding the new department, would not only secure American jobs, but also enhance national security.
Dayton, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said that the ?Buy American? provision will require the Homeland Security Department to do everything it reasonably can to use American products and materials. By ensuring that more government contracts go to American companies, the amendment will help secure jobs that could otherwise go overseas, he said.
?At a time when millions of Americans are out of work, the federal government must do everything it can to maintain and create jobs here in this country by buying American products first,? Dayton said. ?This amendment will not only be an economic stimulus, it will ensure that, in this post September 11climate, we are not dependent on other countries for our national security needs. Now more than ever, we need to make it a priority to put the interests of American workers and our national security first.?
A nearly identical provision was recently passed as part of the House version of the Homeland Security funding bill, increasing the likelihood that the amendment will become law once House and Senate negotiators finalize the bill and send it to the president for his signature.
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The U.S. Senate has passed Senator Mark Dayton?s amendment to require the newly-created Department of Homeland Security to buy American products when purchasing materials, supplies, and labor. The Minnesota Democrat said his amendment, added Wednesday to the $28.5 billion bill funding the new department, would not only secure American jobs, but also enhance national security.
Dayton, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said that the ?Buy American? provision will require the Homeland Security Department to do everything it reasonably can to use American products and materials. By ensuring that more government contracts go to American companies, the amendment will help secure jobs that could otherwise go overseas, he said.
?At a time when millions of Americans are out of work, the federal government must do everything it can to maintain and create jobs here in this country by buying American products first,? Dayton said. ?This amendment will not only be an economic stimulus, it will ensure that, in this post September 11climate, we are not dependent on other countries for our national security needs. Now more than ever, we need to make it a priority to put the interests of American workers and our national security first.?
A nearly identical provision was recently passed as part of the House version of the Homeland Security funding bill, increasing the likelihood that the amendment will become law once House and Senate negotiators finalize the bill and send it to the president for his signature.