New Bill Would "Close Loopholes" in Buy America Act, Berry Amendment
On September 29, 2010, Representative Hare (D) and six cosponsors1 introduced H.R. 6262, the Jobs Through Procurement Act, to stimulate job creation by directing Federal government procurement to domestic sources, to ensure the enforcement of domestic sourcing requirements, to prohibit the procurement of sweatshop goods by the U.S., and for other purposes.
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H.R. 6262 has been referred to the House Oversight and Government Reform and Armed Services Committees and is not yet in effect. Generally, in order for a bill to be implemented, identical versions of that bill must be passed by both the House and Senate, and then the bill must be approved (enacted) by the President.
Highlights of H.R. 6262
Although the text of H.R. 6262 is not yet available, a press release from Representative Hare states that H.R. 6262 would:
- close loopholes in the enforcement of current domestic sourcing requirements (Buy America Act2, Berry Amendment3) and ensure that sweatshops are not rewarded with government contracts;
- require those involved in the contracting of manufactured goods with government funds be trained on domestic purchasing requirements; and
- require a contractor to certify that the facility it uses complies with core labor standards.
(The press release states that H.R. 6262 is supported by Workers United/SEIU, American Federation of Government Employees, Change to Win, the Presbyterian Church (USA), the International Labor Rights Forum and SweatFree Communities.)
1Co-sponsors are Representatives Finer (D), Hastings (D), Michaud (D), Grijalva (D), Kaptur (D), and Moore (D).
2The Buy American Act requires the U.S. government to prefer U.S.-made products in its purchases.
3The Berry Amendment requires the Department of Defense to procure a range of domestically produced or grown items with 100% U.S. content.