WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), a member of the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee, introduced an amendment to the 2018 budget proposal to increase transparency and compliance of Buy American laws. In the last five years, U.S. federal agencies have spent $47.7 billion on goods manufactured by foreign firms. The Department of Defense, the largest purchaser of manufactured goods in the world, has spent almost $200 billion on manufactured goods made by foreign companies since 2007. Murphy has long championed efforts to close Buy American loopholes and ensure more taxpayer money is spent on goods made in America. 

“Taxpayer money shouldn’t be sent overseas when we could be creating jobs here at home instead. Shining a light on the widespread misuse of taxpayer money and the millions of dollars going to foreign companies should give Congress the kick in the butt they need to start fixing our broken Buy American laws. Both Republicans and Democrats should support this commonsense amendment,” said Murphy.

Murphy’s amendment would increase transparency by funding efforts – such as his BuyAmerican.gov Act – that hold federal agencies accountable for abusing Buy American laws and helping ensure those agencies prioritize the purchase of American-made goods. Full text of Murphy’s amendment is available here.

In order to protect and grow manufacturing jobs in Connecticut, Murphy has repeatedly called on agencies to be more transparent and compliant with Buy American laws.

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