U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin Announces New Buy America Legislation

FOND DU LAC, WI – U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin today visited Fives Giddings & Lewis in Fond du Lac to tour the factory, meet with company leadership and workers, and announce her new legislation to strengthen Buy America requirements for the federal government in order to support American businesses, manufacturers and workers.

Fives Giddings & Lewis is an industry leading provider of large, high-precision machine tools and has been a staple of Wisconsin manufacturing since 1859, celebrating its 160 year anniversary next June. Senator Baldwin’s Made in America Act identifies federal programs that fund infrastructure projects not currently subject to Buy America standards and ensures that materials used in these federal programs, including steel, iron and aluminum, are domestically produced. When certifying that materials used in construction are ‘Made in America,’ the bill requires the Department of Commerce to ensure that American jobs are supported.

“The federal government spends billions of taxpayer dollars on infrastructure projects that are not subject to Buy America requirements. The result is American taxpayer money is being spent to buy foreign products and support workers in other countries. We need to change this and rewrite the rules so we are supporting American businesses and our workers here at home,” said Senator Baldwin. “My legislation will strengthen Buy America requirements for the federal government so we are supporting Wisconsin manufacturers like Fives Giddings & Lewis and their workers. Republicans and Democrats should all agree that our nation’s infrastructure should be ‘Made in America.’ I’m hopeful my colleagues on both sides of the aisle will join me in this effort to make sure our government is buying American products and supporting American workers.”

“As a native of Wisconsin, I’ve seen first-hand that Wisconsin workers and manufacturers can compete with anyone in the world.  At Fives Giddings and Lewis, our workers are skilled craftsmen using the latest precision technology to deliver superior products to our clients. Our company built and installed machines in Pearl Harbor in 1951 to service our Naval Fleet. At one of our nation’s most sacred sites, these machines that have supported our fleet for 67 years are due for replacement and a foreign company is poised to replace this American-made equipment,” said Steve Thiry, President & CEO of Fives Giddings & Lewis. “It’s time for Washington to wake up and start delivering solutions. Buy America is the right direction for Wisconsin’s economy and I commend Senator Baldwin for her leadership on this issue.”

This legislation complements Senator Baldwin’s Buy America efforts, including her Made in America Water Infrastructure Act, supported by President Trump, which would help rebuild America’s crumbling drinking water infrastructure with American made iron and steel. Senator Baldwin also recently introduced the Made in America Shipbuilding Act that strengthens Buy American requirements for the federal government’s purchase of ships.

The Made in America Act is also supported by AFL-CIO; IBEW; BRS (Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen); United Steelworkers; the Alliance for American Manufacturing; the American Foundry Society; the Wisconsin Cast Metals Association, the Precision Metalforming Association; the Forging Industry Association; the Non-Ferrous Founders Society; North America’s Building Trades Unions (NABTU); and the International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers (BAC).

More information on the legislation is available here.

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.