Cheshire, CT: Aircraft engine manufacturer Pratt & Whitney has plans to lay of 129 workers at their engine repair center in Connecticut.

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Congressman Joe Courtney (D-CT-2) wrote a recent op-ed for the local Connecticut Journal Inquirer entitled, quite simply, “Make it in America.”

After telling the story of his experience at the commissioning of the new Navy submarine, the USS Missouri, where he was reminded “that “American-Made” is still the gold standard,” the Congressman explained that he is “working to advance a “Make it in America” policy that closes tax loopholes for shipping jobs overseas, boosts incentives to create American clean energy jobs, and ensures that American firms can compete fairly for government contracts.”

As more and more manufacturing jobs are sent overseas, it becomes increasingly important that the Buy America requirements outlined in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) are enforced and that, whenever possible, American companies are given the opportunity to receive stimulus dollars.

In further describing the USS Missouri, a means to greater national security that was crafted in the United States, Rep. Courtney said:

“Built in record time and with the most advanced technology available, the new submarine is a testament to the hard work and skill of the men and women of Electric Boat and the hundreds of small- and mid-sized manufacturing shops that comprise the submarine industrial base.”

Read more.

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Watertown, Connecticut: In a recent TownTimesNews.com article, Rep Chris Murphy (D-98) proposed a remedy for the current recession: buying American.

Murphy recalls the initial Buy American Act and the countless waivers that have been granted in the past 75 years, driving manufacturing overseas and “affecting thousands of manufacuting jobs in the U.S.”

He has proposed the 21st Century Buy American Act– to “strengthen the Buy American Act” and ”close the widening loopholes, and give domestic manufacturers additional help in winning federal contracts.”

According to Murphy, the legislation will accomplish these goals by:

• Creating American jobs by increasing the percentage of a product bought by the federal government that must be made in the U.S.;
• Requiring federal agencies to start giving American manufacturers the upper hand when bidding on contracts over foreign competition;
• Closing the loopholes that undermine the Buy American laws; and
• Mandating that agencies publicly report all waivers of Buy American laws so that American manufacturers can start competing for those contracts.

As we work towards the necessary revitilization of American manufacturing, legislation like the 21st Century Buy American Act is critical to keeping jobs–and tax dollars–from being shipped overseas.

Read more here.

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Capitol Hill: This past Friday, Rep. Chris Murphy (D-CT) won the passage of three amendments to a defense spending bill which will help support Buy American requirements. Regarding the amendments Murphy said, “My focus is simple. By spending more of our existing authorized defense dollars here in America, we can help rebuild our domestic industrial economy without spending any additional federal money.”

Murphy is also the co-chariman of the Buy America Caucus, a bi-partisan caucus formed to enforce Buy American laws in order to protect American manufacturers, jobs, and the economy.  The current Buy American requirements contain loopholes that allow certain departments, including the Department of Defense, to obtain waivers of the requirements, thus shipping tax dollars overseas while putting Americans out of work.

Murphy’s amendments to the defense spending bill include:

1. An amendment to require the Department of Defense to solicit bids from domestic suppliers when procuring supplies for use outside of the United States (currently, supplies used outside of the U.S. are exempt from Buy American laws);
2. An amendment to require the Department of Defense to include in its yearly assessment of waivers granted under the Buy American Act an analysis of the domestic capacity to supply the items procured from overseas and an analysis of the reasons for the yearly increase or decrease in Buy American waivers granted, and;
3. An amendment to force the Department of Defense to consider the impact on U.S. jobs of granting waivers to Buy America laws.

Manufacturing jobs lost due to tax dollars being spent abroad hit home for Murphy, as Connecticut shed 3,000 manufacturing jobs in 2007 alone.

Read more here.

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Oxford, Connecticut: Eemax, Inc. is a leader in commercial and residential tankless water heater construction, and they’re doing their part to support “Buy America” as they work towards helping customers achieve “forward-thinking energy and cost-saving solutions for projects seeking American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funding.”

Says Eemax, Inc. President and CEO Kevin Ruppelt:

“Many of our products have undergone rigorous analysis to ensure compliance with the American Recovery & Reinvestment Act and its Buy America Provision.  By selecting Buy American-compliant Eemax products, our customers are helping to support our nation’s economic recovery, as well as helping our planet by conserving energy and water.”

We think that they are on the right track. 

Get more information on Eemax, Inc.’s Buy American Initiative at www.eemaxine.com/buy-american.

Read more here.

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http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/buy-american-go-green-and-conserve-energy-with-eemax-tankless-water-heater-products-90077287.html

North Haven, CT: Marlin Firearms Co., a gun manufacturer that once produced a gun favored by shooting legend Annie Oakley, will be closing their plant by next year, resulting in 265 jobs lost.

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