Dem Senators Gin Up Support for Buy America Provision in Keystone Bill
Three Democratic senators rallied support on Jan. 20 to tack an amendment on the Keystone XL pipeline legislation that would require only U.S.-produced materials are to be used in the project’s construction. The amendment will help to ensure the project creates American jobs and benefits the U.S. economy, said Sens. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., Al Franken, D-Minn., and Ed Markey, D-Mass., in a press conference. While vowing to still oppose the legislation as a whole, the lawmakers also touted a measure to mandate petroleum and petroleum goods produced by the pipeline are sold in the U.S.
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The Senate resumed consideration of the bill on Jan. 20. The chamber will vote on both amendments, as well as another two, later in the day. President Obama has threatened to veto the bill in the past.
Franken proposed the amendment, and Sens. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., and Joe Machin, D-W.Va., Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., and Barbara Mikulski, D-Md., signed on. The amendment (here) calls for the construction material requirement to stay in line with “international trade agreements,” but won’t apply if the president determines the iron, steel and other necessary materials aren’t produced domestically at “sufficient” quantity and quality. It also won’t apply if the use of U.S.-produced materials raised the project’s cost by more than 25 percent. Still, federal agencies should implement the regulation to the “maximum extent” permitted by those trade rules, says the amendment.
Schumer and Franken dismissed the threat of international criticism of the construction material amendment during the press conference. “Those [implementing] rules will be worked out with the administration and [will be] entirely consistent with our trade obligations,” said Franken. Stabenow recently said she didn’t fear a World Trade Organization dispute over the regulation, should it become law (see 1501070040).
Allowing all foreign producers to sell construction materials for use in the project will only support the “bottom line of steel companies overseas,” and will illustrate that Republicans in Congress are working on behalf of “narrow, special interests,” said Schumer. He also urged Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to keep the amendment process open for more consideration following the Jan. 20 votes.
The Buy America provision is only one of dozens of total amendments so far filed on the bill. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., also proposed an amendment to allow non-U.S. citizens to own and operate ships that transport merchandise to and from ports floating on or supported by water (here). The amendment would repeal the Merchant Marine Act of 1920, known as the Jones Act, McCain’s office said. McCain called the law a “protectionist restriction” in a recent statement (here).
Meanwhile, a union leader rejected the repeal of the Jones Act in a letter to senators in recent days. “Passage of Senator McCain’s amendment would result in the outsourcing of U.S. shipbuilding to foreign nations, which will not only severely damage our defense capabilities, but will also devastate U.S. commercial ship building and lead to a loss of good paying American jobs,” said International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers President Thomas Buffenbarger in the letter (here).