Washington, D.C. - U.S. Rep. Brian Baird stood up for American jobs today by sponsoring an amendment to promote American-made steel and the workers who produce it.  Rep. Baird, along with Rep. Donald Manzullo (R-IL), Chairman of the House Committee on Small Business, drafted an amendment requiring the Coast Guard to conduct bridge alteration projects only with steel, iron and materials that have been produced in the United States.

The Coast Guard is authorized to undertake bridge alteration projects to ensure open navigation of important waterways under the Truman-Hobbs Act of 1940.  To date, the Coast Guard has asserted that Buy America provisions do not apply to bridge alteration projects, however, Reps. Baird and Manzullo believe it should.

Metal fabricators, such as those located in Southwest Washington and Oregon, have long been a foundation of America’s manufacturing base.  Since January 2001, over 2.5 million manufacturing jobs have been lost, 61,500 of these in Washington State alone.  Rep. Baird’s amendment requiring contractors to use American goods for bridgework would provide local workers an opportunity to bid on projects and create jobs to meet an increase in demand for goods.  The amendment was  considered along with the Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Act earlier this afternoon.

“This is a common sense amendment to ensure American bridges are built with American made steel and metal products,” said Baird.  “Currently, the Coast Guard is essentially using taxpayer dollars to buy foreign products to alter and repair bridges.  Our amendment puts a stop to that.  Building bridges with American goods promotes our local industry and creates family-wage jobs our workers can be proud of.”

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