White Introduces Measure to Strengthen Buy American initiative

recently introduced legislation designed to put Americans back to work and ensure that taxpayer-funded projects in the state utilize American resources over foreign goods and services.

Under White’s proposal, H.B. 2178, projects procured by state government would be required to use iron, steel or other manufactured goods produced in the United States—expanding the state’s Steel Products Procurement Act of 1978.

“State taxpayer dollars should not be used to support companies that have moved their operations, investment dollars and jobs to foreign countries,” White, D-Cecil said. “We should put our money where our mouth is and make good on our commitment to providing for a robust and homegrown manufacturing base.”

White said that reasonable provisions are included in the bill for cases where the necessary amount of materials to complete the project is unavailable, or the cost of the project contract exceeds the contracted amount by 25 percent.

“While the government’s proper role as a job creator will continue to be debated, I can’t imagine anybody arguing with commonsense legislation that says our hard-earned tax dollars should be spent here,” White said. “Not only is it the right thing to do, it will provide an opportunity to foster jobs and promote a robust tax base for future investments, including those to the state’s crumbling infrastructure.”

House Bill 2178 is currently awaiting its committee assignment for further consideration.