President Biden signs a "Made in America" executive order on Jan. 25, 2021, to increase the amount of federal spending that goes to American companies. JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images
New Interagency Council Will Further ‘Made in America’ Efforts
“From day one, President Biden has made clear that when the federal government spends taxpayer dollars, it should support American workers and businesses,” said an administration official.
The White House announced a new council on Wednesday to coordinate its “Made in America” efforts governmentwide.
As a result of an early executive order from President Biden, the Office of Management and Budget has a Made in America Office, led by Celeste Drake. The office is aimed at helping to boost domestic manufacturing through procurement. Now the interagency council will further those efforts.
“Not only will the new council help agencies effectively coordinate their more than $600 billion in annual procurement spending, but it will also help streamline and strengthen the administration’s work to effectively and efficiently implement the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act,” wrote Drake in a blog post. “The council will also share data that can help promote domestic sourcing and best practices across agencies that are facing similar challenges and opportunities, and also surface recommendations to help build and expand critical U.S. supply chains.”
Government Executive reported in November about how the $1.2 trillion infrastructure package expands upon the Biden administration’s “Made in America” efforts.
The announcement does not mention who the members of the council are. An OMB official told Government Executive on background that there is “representation from 23 of the 24 [Chief Financial Officers] Act agencies and 28 of the non-[Chief Financial Officers] Act independent agencies.”
According to The Hill, the council has career and political officials and the first meeting is on Wednesday. The OMB official confirmed this on background to Government Executive.
“From day one, President Biden has made clear that when the federal government spends taxpayer dollars, it should support American workers and businesses,” wrote Drake. “As we continue to power our historic economic and jobs recovery, the Made in America Office will help lead the way in creating good union jobs in critical supply chains all across the country, including historically underserved communities.”
Biden signed the executive order on January 25, 2021, just five days after inauguration. Then guidance came out in June and a proposed rule in July. Also, the administration launched a website to increase transparency of waivers to the domestic sourcing laws.