Buy American: Biden to direct federal government to purchase more U.S.-made goods – By Michael Collins (USA Today) / January 25 2021
WASHINGTON – President Joe Biden will take steps Monday to encourage the federal government to buy more American-made products, a move the new administration argues will protect U.S. jobs and juice an economy severely hobbled by the deadly coronavirus pandemic.
Biden, who pushed a $700 billion Buy American campaign as a candidate for president, is set to sign an executive order that will advance several policies to boost the federal government’s purchase of U.S.-manufactured goods and services, administration officials said Sunday.
Federal law requires government agencies to give preference to American firms when possible, but critics say those requirements haven’t always been implemented consistently or effectively. Some have not been substantially updated since the 1950s.
The federal government spends nearly $600 billion a year on contracts, which is money the administration says can spur a revitalization of the nation’s industrial strength and create new markets for new technologies.
