Washington, D.C. – During his State of the Union address Tuesday night, President Biden outlined his administration’s economic achievements, celebrating the 800,000 manufacturing jobs America has gained since he assumed office. As the president highlighted, passage of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the CHIPS and Science Act, and the Inflation Reduction Act have been historic steps toward forging a stronger economy built “from the bottom up and the middle out, not from the top down.”
The president’s industrial policy efforts have paid off. According to the White House, more than 200 companies have privately invested $700 billion in manufacturing, utilities and energy across the nation, boosting our economic and national security.
Biden also announced Buy America standards to ensure that infrastructure funds are reinvested in America’s manufacturers and workers. These standards determine eligibility under the new Buy America law for construction materials used in federally assisted infrastructure projects.
As the president acknowledged in his speech, there is much more work to be done to build an economy “where no one gets left behind.” In order to truly fulfill the president’s vision of an equitable economic recovery, the Biden administration must ensure that taxpayer dollars spent on rebuilding America are reinvested into strengthening America’s industrial capabilities and supporting American jobs, not responding to the concerns of foreign nations and importers.
Alliance for American Manufacturing President Scott Paul said:
“I was heartened that the president used a big chunk of his State of the Union address to shine a spotlight on the truly historic resurgence of American manufacturing over the past two years. And he was correct to note that it wouldn’t have happened without his administration’s work and important new laws like the infrastructure investment package, CHIPS Act and Inflation Reduction Act.
“The progress made during Biden’s first two years in office must be the first step, not the last word when it comes to American manufacturing. Although we took major strides in 2022 to invest in our own industrial capabilities, the trade deficit surged to nearly $1 trillion. There’s clearly a long way to go to rebuild broken supply chains and boost our production.
“One place to start is by fully implementing the Build America, Buy America provisions in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
“Like the president, I am truly optimistic that the United States can still do big things — and that includes building a Made in America future. We stand ready to help both President Biden and Congress make progress in the years ahead.”
There is widespread bipartisan support for Buy America policies. A whopping 83% of voters agree that taxpayer dollars should go toward infrastructure projects that utilize American-made projects, a recent Alliance for American Manufacturing poll conducted by Morning Consult finds.
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