John Plahovinsak
On September 20, 2023, fourteen (14) members of the House of Representatives issued a letter to Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Secretary Denis McDonough during an Oversight Hearing, entitled “VA Procurement: Made in America.”
The letter urged the VA Secretary for more effort in following Buy America laws. According to the correspondence, the VA was not prioritizing Buy America laws in U.S. government purchases.
Specifically, the “Biden administration is falling short in its duty to support domestic producers and serve America’s veterans with American-made goods.”
“This is an issue which is very important to my district,” explained Congresswoman Amata Radewagen, from American Samoa. “The administration’s overuse of exemptions harms local economies like American Samoa’s fishing and canning industries. We are in direct competition with foreign processors who underpay their workers and have lower standards for illegal and unreported fishing.”
On July 17, 2019, former President Donald Trump issued an Executive Order (EO) directing the VA and other federal agencies “to use the terms and conditions of contracts and financial assistance to maximize the use of goods and services produced in the United States.”
On January 25, 2021, President Joseph Biden issued an EO “Ensuring the Future is Made in All of America by All of America’s Workers.” The EO established the Made in America Office (MIAO) as the central reviewing body for all federal agency waivers to “Made in America” laws.
The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) issued a Memorandum which identified key information that federal agencies are required to report to justify their non-availability procurement waivers. The MIAO was directed to post that information on a publicly available website, madeinamerica.gov to promote accountability and public trust.
However, the fourteen (14) Congressional Representatives all contend that the VA is not fulfilling its obligations to report what information is required by the OMB Memorandum.
Specifically, the information posted on the madeinamerica.gov website “is typically vague and includes minimal descriptions of what market research was performed or how the VA staff searched for domestic alternatives.”
According to the letter, “It does not seem to provide any evidence of supplier scouting with supply chain experts such as local chamber of commerce, industry and trade associations, or the Manufacturing Extension Partnership.”
“What the public and Congress see is a watered-down version of the waiver that includes none of the information that OMB requires agencies to report,” noted the correspondence.
In addition, the VA has only just posted two approved Build America, Buy America Act (BABAA) waivers on its’ public website since May of 2022. The Congressional leaders determined that “this is a remarkably low number given that the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act was signed into law nearly two years ago and the website has not been updated for nearly six months.”
The correspondence stated, “We question whether the information VA has provided is accurate and complete.” The Congressional signers believe the OMB requirements support transparency and increased participation by domestic suppliers, “but the fact that they are not being carried out makes the whole exercise self-defeating.”
“We think you would agree that VA should be caring for the men and women who have served with the products made from American ingenuity they fought to defend,” the signers contended.
Another concern expressed in the letter was that “waiver requests to buy foreign-made goods instead, are being approved quickly—rubber stamped at a rate of 100 percent at many agencies, including the VA.”
The fourteen (14) signers of the correspondence requested the VA Secretary to respond to four (4) specific requests for information concerning the “Made in America” laws by October 13, 2023.
“When producing documents, do not alter them in any way, including but not limited to applications or redactions or a watermark,” indicated the correspondence.
My Opinion: The fourteen (14) Representatives are correct in expressing their displeasure of VA procurement actions in violation of the existing “Made in America” Executive Orders.
The Representatives cite “a liberal attitude toward granting waivers from these laws has undermined the federal government’s purchasing from U.S. manufacturers.”
I concur with the Representatives’ actions and will wait-and-see the response from the VA on October 13, 2023. However, I would expect the VA to request a ninety (90) day delay in submitting specific documents to Congress.
BioSketch: John Plahovinsak is a retired 32-year Army veteran, who served from 1967 to 1999. He is the current Disabled American Veterans (DAV) Department of Ohio Hospital Chairman and Adjutant of Chapter #63 (Clermont County). He can be contacted at plahovinsak@msn.com.