Sen. Baldwin Urges Trump to Follow Through on Pledge and Enforce Strong Buy America Standards

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) urged the Trump administration to follow through on President Donald Trump’s pledge to prioritize American workers and businesses and properly enforce Buy America rules when rebuilding our nation’s infrastructure. Baldwin championed the Build America, Buy America Act in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), but some agencies have exploited loopholes, and these standards to prioritize American workers have been flouted. Specifically, Senator Baldwin is calling on the Trump Administration to conduct an additional round of identification of “deficient programs” to identify remaining gaps in Buy America standards within federal infrastructure funding.

“The President has long said he wants to prioritize American workers, American businesses, and American manufacturers. Well, it’s time he put his money where his mouth is,” said Senator Baldwin. “I was proud to include strong provisions into law that ensure when we rebuild our infrastructure, we do it with American workers and companies – and now we need the Trump administration to make sure our workers get the business they deserve.”

Among the core directives of Senator Baldwin’s Build America, Buy America (BABA) law was a requirement to impose strong Buy America policies on programs “deemed deficient,” failing to prioritize and protect American businesses and workers. Deficient programs were defined as those not covered by Buy America standards at all, or the existing coverage was outdated and undermined by waivers or other loopholes. After the law’s passage as part of the BIL, many federal agencies were late or provided incomplete information on deficient programs. Now more than four years after enactment of BABA, many departments and agencies have partially or fully avoided BABA implementation for certain programs.

Senator Baldwin has long led the charge in advocating for stronger Buy America standards to support American businesses and workers. In the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, Baldwin successfully included provisions of her Made in America Act. In January, Senator Baldwin pushed Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy at his confirmation hearing before the Senate Commerce Committee to commit to enforcing Buy America laws. She also worked to include strong Buy America standards in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

Full text of the letter is available here and below.

Dear Associate Director Stumo,

I write to urge you to ensure full implementation of Buy America policies signed into law as part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and ensure that federal infrastructure funding is subject to strong Buy America standards. More specifically, I ask that you direct federal agencies to conduct an additional review to identify deficient programs so that we can ensure that taxpayer-funded projects are using domestically produced materials and products supplied by America’s workers and businesses.

The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) included a requirement that within 60 days of enactment, each agency submit to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and Congress a report listing all federal financial assistance programs for infrastructure administered by the agency and that identifies the programs that are deficient. A program is considered deficient if it is not covered by Buy America requirements or if the existing coverage is undermined by waivers of general applicability or other loopholes. Unfortunately, many agencies were late or provided incomplete reports on deficient programs, and more than four years after enactment of IIJA, I am concerned that many agencies have not fully implemented BABA for certain programs.

One clear example is the Federal Transit Administration’s (FTA) continued treatment of entire “systems” as “end products” under its Buy America regulations at 49 C.F.R. Part 661. This outdated interpretation directly conflicts with BABA’s purpose of strengthening domestic content requirements and remedying deficient programs.

Moreover, there is little transparency into the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) progress on BABA implementation. To date, HUD has issued various “public interest” waivers that have delayed and narrowed BABA applicability. In 2023, HUD adopted lengthy timelines that have allowed tens of billions of dollars in federal assistance to be distributed without full compliance of BABA requirements. It remains unclear today whether BABA is being applied to federally assisted housing projects, as evidenced by the lack of project-specific waivers issued by the department.

Following the initial round of identification of deficient programs required by the infrastructure law, a renewed evaluation is necessary to assess the status of Build America, Buy America (BABA) implementation across the federal government. This updated review should include a thorough examination of any longstanding or newly issued general waivers. It is commonsense to conduct a second round of identification of deficient programs to provide policymakers with a clear understanding of how the BABA law is being implemented, where weaknesses in Buy America standards remain, and what actions are needed to bring agencies into full compliance with the law.

When we use taxpayer dollars to support American-made products and jobs, we help ensure that goods are produced under strong environmental and workplace safety standards while strengthening our economic and national security. I appreciate your attention to this request and look forward to working with you to support American workers and businesses.

Sincerely,

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. While it is believed to be reliable, Urban Milwaukee does not guarantee its accuracy or completeness.