Transportation Groups Continue Pushback on "Buy America" Mandate
The Biden administration is pushing state transportation departments and their contractors to use more U.S.-made materials as they build new infrastructure, but many industry groups worry the federal government is rolling out the changes too quickly, according to an article on Route Fifty.
“AASHTO is still concerned that the quick implementation of Buy America requirements for such a broad range of materials will cause delays in project delivery while states, contractors, manufacturers, and suppliers continue working to determine how best to track and verify these materials,” wrote Roger Millar, Washington state’s secretary of transportation and the president of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, in a letter to federal officials.
The current debate over “Buy America” rules for infrastructure projects stems from provisions in last year’s federal infrastructure law that expand the types of projects the rules apply to and the kinds of materials that the rules cover. The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act broadened the reach of the laws to include electric utilities and transmission, broadband, and real estate.
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Source: Route Fifty
About the Author
Frank RaczonFrank Raczon
Frank Raczon has influenced and covered the equipment industry for 35 years, including 15 years as senior editor of Construction Equipment, and marketing, advertising, and public relations work for the industry's top manufacturers. He authored "Caterpillar: Modern Earthmoving Marvels" (Motorbooks, 2015), and has won numerous awards in his career, highlighted by nods from the Construction Writers Association, the Association of Equipment Manufacturers, the Business Marketing Association, and BtoB magazine. Raczon has also won awards from publishing peer groups such as ASBPE and TABPI.
