A plan by Democratic state lawmakers would prevent the state of Wisconsin from buying its bridges overseas; a move they say will help preserve American jobs.
When it came time to replace a major span of the San Francisco – Oakland Bay Bridge, California officials outsourced the work to a Chinese manufacturer. U.S. workers are still assembling the bridge, but construction of the massive steel decks was handled in China.
California officials said the move cut costs for the plan significantly, but Fort Atkinson Democrat Andy Jorgensen argues those savings come at the cost of American jobs. “Is this how we want to spend our tax dollars? Overseas? In a wage race to the bottom? I don’t think so.”
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Jorgensen has introduced a plan that would require the state of Wisconsin to buy American for infrastructure projects. It is similar to a law already on the books that bans the state from spending tax dollars on services overseas.
The full legislature returns to Madison in January.
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