The U.S. Senate passed the National Defense Authorization Act of 2016 on Tuesday. The bill included U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy’s “Buy American” amendment, which will require new transparency when the Department of Defense tries to use loopholes to get around purchasing goods made in America.
The defense bill now heads to President Obama for his signature. “By opening up tank-sized loopholes in the Buy American Act, the Pentagon is sending taxpayer money overseas instead of supporting businesses here in the United States,” said Murphy. “I will continue working to ensure that the pressure to buy American never lets up.”
The bill also made significant investments in Connecticut’s critical defense manufacturing industry, Murphy said. “With over $7 billion to build the next generation of submarines made by Electric Boat in Groton, $12.2 billion for the Joint Strike Fighters with engines built by Pratt & Whitney in Middletown, and $2.6 billion for Blackhawk helicopters built by Sikorsky in Stratford, I’m proud to say that today Congress reaffirmed its trust in Connecticut,” he added.
