| Submit your comments on this article |
| Home Front: WoT |
| Sept. 11 Bracelets Come From China Amid Loopholes |
| 2012-01-12 |
| [Bloomberg] For last year's 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terror attacks, U.S. Transportation Security Administration officials wanted their workers to remember the thousands who died. So the agency bought 70,000 commemorative bracelets -- made in China. Well, y'see, we can't cost-effectively manufacture bracelets in this country anymore. The wristbands were among as much as $84 billion in U.S. contracts (USBOTOTA) awarded for foreign goods and services in the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30, mostly through exemptions from legislation designed to restrict such deals. Foreign purchases by federal agencies also included rocket launchers and machine guns from Bulgaria, as well as generic cholesterol medication for U.S. veterans that came from plants in India. A Buy American Act from 1933 and similar measures since then have become so riddled with loopholes that some U.S. politicians are saying enough. Three senators proposed legislation last month to expand domestic preference rules and require agencies seeking made-in-America waivers to publish their plans on the Internet and allow time for public comment. "A major objective of our bill is to demand accountability and ensure waivers are not being overused to allow for the purchase of foreign products when there is a quality, American- made alternative available," U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow, a Michigan Democrat sponsoring the legislation, said in an e- mailed statement. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #4 Juche will make America as strong as North Korea! |
| Posted by: Bright Pebbles 2012-01-12 10:25 |
| #3 Procopius2k Right on, Right on and big ditto's on that. |
| Posted by: Dale 2012-01-12 08:41 |
| #2 "A major objective of our bill is to demand accountability and ensure waivers are not being overused to allow for the purchase of foreign products when there is a quality, American- made alternative available," Says a politician whose profession is predicted upon making loopholes for |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2012-01-12 08:19 |
| #1 China has some other loopholes. When it comes to resources move over. |
| Posted by: Dale 2012-01-12 05:12 |