‘Buy America’ provisions inconsistent among departments, Sen. Baldwin says

The implementation of “Build America, Buy America” provisions of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law are “inconsistent between departments,” Wisconsin Sen. Tammy Baldwin said at Semafor’s Made in America event.

Baldwin praised the law for helping build jobs in Wisconsin, but said some departments were slow to incorporate the policy, citing, as an example, the Department of Agriculture’s “rigidity” in sourcing its products for a USDA-funded hospital.

“They have different views,” Baldwin said. “There was a rigidity where you have to ramp up these policies.”

She said that the country “needs time” to build more infrastructure that will ultimately supply the resources that different sectors need.

While Baldwin was instrumental in authoring some of the ’Build America” policies, some of her colleagues believe the provisions might have too many loopholes that could actually help competitors like China.

— With Helen Li