Congressman John Garamendi has authored numerous bills to bring back good-paying manufacturing jobs in America. Garamendi believes that when we “Make It In America” we provide a vital economic stimulus for our nation and help rebuild the middle class. Garamendi’s Make It In America agenda ensures that when the federal government spends taxpayer dollars, those dollars are spent on American-made goods made by American workers.

“As American businesses are on the brink of closing due to the compounding COVID-19 crisis, the federal government must take every action it can to support American manufacturers and workers. America is a beacon of hope, a global powerhouse and the land of opportunity,” Congressman Garamendi said. “We must rebuild our once robust manufacturing sector, repower our factories and assembly lines, hire the working men and women of this great nation, and restore America’s once prospering middle class.”

“I want to walk into Target and see ‘Made in America’ throughout the store. We can make it in America,” Congressman Garamendi added. “Middle-class wages in America have stagnated for three decades, and our country’s future success depends on bringing back good manufacturing jobs. We must ensure the U.S. tax code and other federal polices encourage job creation in America. This work can be done by hardworking Americans in Northern California and throughout the country. Let’s make it here.”

Congressman Garamendi is sponsoring the following bills:

•  The Made in America Act would strengthen “Buy American”  requirements across major federally funded public infrastructure projects to better support American businesses, manufacturers, and workers. Garamendi’s bicameral bill adds “Buy American” requirements to federal programs that currently lack such standards and ensures that building materials used in these federally funded infrastructure projects, including steel, iron and construction materials, are produced domestically.
   
• The Energizing American Shipbuilding Act would revitalize America’s strategic domestic shipbuilding and maritime industries by requiring that increasing percentages of liquefied natural gas (LNG) and crude oil exports from the United States be transported on U.S.-built, flagged, and crewed vessels. Garamendi’s bipartisan bill is expected to spur the construction of several dozen ships, supporting thousands of good-paying jobs in American shipyards, as well as the domestic vessel component manufacturing and maritime industries. According to an estimate from the Shipbuilders Council of America, the bill would result in the construction of more than 40 ships: approximately 28 LNG carriers by 2041 and 12 oil tankers by 2033.
   
• The American Food for American Schools Act would strengthen enforcement of existing “Buy American” requirements under the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s school breakfast, special milk, lunch, and afterschool snack programs to support American family farmers and ensure that schoolchildren are eating nutritious, locally grown foods. Garamendi’s bipartisan bill would also increase public transparency by allowing parents to know from where the food served to their children in school comes.
   
• The TIFIA for Airports Act would unlock low-interest federal financing for public airport improvement projects, subject to the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) “Buy American” requirements to modernize our nation’s airports using American materials and workers. Garamendi’s bill builds upon U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth’s (D-IL) “Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (TIFIA) for Airports.”
   
• The Aircraft Maintenance Outsourcing Disclosure Act of 2019 would require airlines to disclose the maintenance history for their aircraft fleets, specifically the location and date an aircraft underwent heavy maintenance—the most comprehensive test for an aircraft. Specifically, airlines would be required to submit an annual report to a new Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) database that tracks the maintenance history of their aircraft fleets. The database would indicate whether maintenance was conducted in the United States or abroad; by FAA-certified mechanics or not; or by airline employees or third-party contractors. Garamendi’s bipartisan bill prioritizes transparency for passengers, airline safety, and supports the creation of new middle-class aviation mechanic jobs in the United States.

116th Congress (2019-2020)

• The Pharmaceutical Independence Long-Term Readiness Reform Act requires the Department of Defense to identify the vulnerabilities faced by our country’s dependence on Chinese pharmaceuticals, and to only purchase American-made raw materials, medicines, and vaccines for the military. The bill was enacted in the William M. (Mac) Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 (Public Law 116-283).
   
• “Buy American” Requirement for MARAD Small Shipyard Grant Program: Garamendi’s amendment implementing “Buy American” requirements for federal funds awarded under the Maritime Administration’s Small Shipyard Grant Program was enacted in the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020 (Public law 116-92). Garamendi’s amendment was based off Senator Baldwin’s (D-WI) “Made in America Shipbuilding Act of 2020.”
   

113th Congress (2013-2014)

• The Made in America Act: Create Clean Energy Manufacturing Jobs in America Act authorizes federal acquisition of, or the provision of federal funds to states for purchase of, only green technologies that are 85% manufactured in the United States from articles, materials, or supplies that are 85% grown, produced, or manufactured in the United States.

112th Congress (2011-2012)

• The Made in America: Create Transportation Manufacturing Jobs in America Act would eliminate certain grounds for waiving Buy American requirements that the Secretary of Transportation (DOT) obligate federal funding for certain air navigation, highway, and rail activities and projects only if U.S. steel, iron, and manufactured goods are used in such projects.
   
• The Airports, Highways, High-Speed Rail, Trains and Transit: Make it in America Act would create American jobs by setting stronger standards for goods and equipment purchased with federal dollars for airports, highways, high-speed rail, trains and transit. The legislation increases domestic content provisions for airports and rolling stock from 60 to 100 percent over time, eliminates non-availability waivers, and makes similar waiver reporting requirements across the different modes of transportation.
   
• The Manufacture Renewable Energy Systems: Make it in America Act would create American jobs by ensuring that taxpayer dollars are spent on American-made renewable energy systems, including solar, wind, geothermal, and biofuels. Phased over a four year period, the bill requires the federal government and any state government buying renewable technologies with federal funds to purchase renewable sources of energy grown, produced, or manufactured with 100% American content. It also requires any company taking advantage of the Investment Tax Credit and the Production Tax Credit to buy 100% American content within four years after the bill becomes law.

111th Congress (2009-2010)

• The Close Foreign Tax Loopholes: Make it in America Act of 2010 would offer tax incentives to American companies looking to invest in jobs-creating capital improvements.
   
• The Buses, Rail Cars, Ferryboats: Make it in America Act of 2010 would create American jobs by eliminating three waivers to the Buy America requirement and ensuring that taxpayer dollars are spent on American-made buses, rail cars, and ferryboats.

Middle-class wages in America have stagnated for three decades, and our country’s future success in a global economy depends on reinvigorating our manufacturing sectors. Our competitors have invested significant resources in the clean technologies of the future, and it’s important that we do the same.

Garamendi has been fighting to rebuild the American middle class by advancing his Make It In America agenda from his earliest days in Congress. Watch one of his first speeches on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives on this issue from July, 2010:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=packR-APUr0