Last week, U.S. Senator Mike Braun offered an amendment to America’s Highway Infrastructure Act which strengthens the Department of Transportation (DOT) requirements to use “made-in-America” products in taxpayer-funded infrastructure projects. According to a statement from Braun’s office,
“Buy America requirements have been applied for decades to most federal transportation projects, but some projects that receive federal Department of Transportation (DOT) discretionary dollars are not subject to Buy America. To ensure that the economic benefits of taxpayer spending go to American workers and businesses, Buy America should apply to American-made iron, steel, and manufactured products in all DOT funded infrastructure projects. The Braun amendment ensures that every DOT assisted infrastructure project uses American-made iron, steel, and manufactured products. In addition, Buy America could be strengthened.”