How American Is "Buy American?"

Ten House Democrats, led by Ellen Tauscher of California and Adam Smith of Washington, sent a letter to OMB Director Peter Orszag, urging him to draft stimulus spending regulations subjecting state and local governments awarded stimulus money to the same international procurement agreements applying to the federal government. The letter is an effort to head off a threatened move by Canadian cities to stop buying pumps and other water infrastructure equipment from United States manufacturers, which could cost the U. S. industry as much as $2 billion each year. The letter also requests that Orszag define as "American made" both products made in U. S. owned foreign factories from U. S. produced material, and products made in U. S. factories from foreign sourced materials. The letter does not explain how such definitions save or create jobs in this country.