Contact: Jessica Smith, (202)228-5185
Friday, May 8, 2009 Kimberly Hunter, 202-228-5258
As Richmond-Area Jobs Are Cut, Webb Urges
Defense Department to End Procurement Exemptions
that Send Jobs Overseas
Tells Secretary Gates that Domestic Procurement of Fibers Will Support
US Manufacturers and Strengthen Defense Industrial Base
Senator Jim Webb (D-VA) today called on Secretary of Defense Robert Gates to discontinue two unwarranted exemptions related to procurement of para-aramid and fire-resistant fibers from foreign suppliers that result in manufacturing jobs being shipped overseas. Webb said that a prompt review by the Department of Defense will clearly document why the exceptions should not be applied for defense-related procurements.
“Current law mandates an annual review [of the exemptions] by the Secretary of Defense,” Senator Webb wrote in a joint letter with Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC).
The Senators’ letter to the Department of Defense comes on the heels of DuPont’s announcement yesterday to cut 2,000 jobs. DuPont’s Spruance plant in Richmond, Va. is one of the world’s largest manufacturing sites for products such as Kevlar(R) and Nomex(R) fibers, Tyvek(R) nonwoven and Zytel(R) resins. The company also has a plant under construction to produce Kevlar(R) in South Carolina.
“There is simply no justification for foreign-based procurement of materials needed for defense products when such items are now available in the U.S. marketplace,” said Senator Jim Webb. At issue are two outdated exemptions to the Berry Amendment that allow the Defense Department to look abroad if suitable materials aren’t available domestically.
“Domestic materials are not only available, but U.S. manufacturers in Virginia and across the country are suffering severe job losses because we are not adequately procuring them. Defense Secretary Gates is required by law to conduct an annual review of this exemption. I hope he will do so expeditiously and conclude that continued use of the exceptions is damaging our nation’s defense industrial base and hindering much-needed economic growth,” continued Webb.
The Berry Amendment requires the Department of Defense to give preference in its procurement to domestically produced, manufactured, or home grown products—most notably food, clothing, fabrics, and specialty metals. DOD was authorized to apply two exemptions to the amendment in 1998 and 2008 for the procurement of para-aramid and fire-resistant fibers, respectively, at a time when there was limited domestic competition. Conditions in the U.S. marketplace have since changed.
To view a complete copy of the letter from Senators Webb and Graham to Secretary Gates, please visit: http://webb.senate.gov/pdf/ltrgates.pdf
