Biden said he would announce new standards to require all construction materials used in federal infrastructure projects to be made in America, listing lumber, glass, drywall and fiber-optic cable — and vowed to extend that to American infrastructure more general as part of a broader"Buy American" policy.
The Associated Builders and Contractors trade group was not thrilled with Biden’s unionization executive orders and project-labor agreements that the group described as “anti-competitive and anti-growth." The group said 88.3% of construction workers have chosen not to join a union. “Worker choice allows everyone who has different desires to pursue their career dreams in their unique way," said president and CEOin a statement after the speech."This choice is the bedrock of what America is all about and creates immense value for the taxpayer. Yet the Biden administration’s policies promoting government-mandated project labor agreements on taxpayer-funded infrastructure projects and support of the PRO Act undermine these principles.
"The progress made during Biden's first two years in office must be the first step, not the last word when it comes to American manufacturing. Although we took major strides in 2022 to invest in our own industrial capabilities, the trade deficit surged to nearly $1 trillion. There's clearly a long way to go to rebuild broken supply chains and boost our production,” Paul said.
While big legislation is unlikely to pass in a divided Congress in 2023 and 2024, the Biden Administration has been flexing its rule-making authority at the FTC and elsewhere.Want more stories like this? To stay up to date on the news and information to grow your business,