Rep. Fattah Calls on the President for an Order to Spur Domestic Manufacturing by Government Contractors

WASHINGTON, June 2, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Congressman Chaka Fattah (D-PA) today called on President Obama, during a meeting at the White House, to issue an Executive Order to review how U.S. government contractors are using non-American goods and materials - and how that data could spur "made in America" manufacturing.

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Fattah suggested to the President that the Executive Order would establish a data base of products from outside the United States that major contractors and subcontractors use to fulfill government contracts. The data, Fattah said, would show the way for the U.S. government to use its buying power to encourage American manufacturers to supply those products and materials.

Fattah, the ranking member of the House Appropriations' Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, made his direct request during the President's meeting with the House Democratic Caucus this afternoon.

"American innovators and manufacturers have developed products that agencies of the United States government require every day for all sorts of purposes - everything from Smart Grid transformers to television monitors to bicycles - that are no longer manufactured or readily available in our country," Fattah said. "By compiling this data, we have a valuable tool to jumpstart 'made in America' manufacturing to meet government needs."

SOURCE Office of Congressman Chaka Fattah