Opinion

‘Buy American’ isn’t as simple as it seems

By Mike Lange
Staff Writer

    Any press release that includes the words “Gov. Paul LePage,” “Walmart” and “Florida” is guaranteed to annoy most die-hard Democrats.
    After the governor announced plans to attend the U.S. Manufacturing Summit in Orlando last week, co-hosted by the National Retail Federation and Walmart, it didn’t take long for State Sen. Troy Jackson to criticize the chief executive.

    Jackson, who is running for Congress next year, verbally whacked LePage for vetoing the Maine Buy American Act (L.D. 890) last month but later attending “an out of state junket to discuss promoting products made in the U.S.A.  The governor doesn’t need to go back to Florida to help Maine. There are plenty of opportunities here in Maine to create jobs and work with our home state businesses.”
    According to the governor’s office, the Florida summit was designed to find ways to attract and keep more businesses in the U.S. while maintaining a competitive advantage over foreign companies. LePage was joined by at least six other governors including Rick Scott from the host state.
    So was LePage being inconsistent by attending the conference less than two months after vetoing the Buy American Act?
    LD 890 was one of those feel-good bills that drew widespread partisan support in the early stages of the 126th Legislature. After all, how could anyone in good conscience vote against a bill requiring that all contracts for the construction or renovation of a state facility include a provision that the material being used for the job be manufactured in the United States?
    Darn few, as is turned out. The bill was passed in the Maine House 136–6 and in the Senate 31–4.
    In early July, however, LePage even surprised his ardent supporters by vetoing the measure. And when it came time to override the governor’s veto, the Senate couldn’t muster the mandatory two-thirds vote.
    So was LePage being mean-spirited by vetoing the bill? It doesn’t seem likely.
    One question the governor asked was why the Legislature would pass one bill to promote cross-border trade with Canada (L.D. 1554) and another that would potentially cut off trade with the state.
    Trade, LePage pointed out in his veto message, is a two-way street. “We have companies like L.L. Bean which source and sell products all over the world. We have Maine lobster certified by the Marine Stewardship Council, allowing us to gain market share all over the world,” he wrote. In addition, the state has been examining the logistics of buying electricity from Quebec’s hydroelectric plants.
    So while the bill was apparently designed to add a dose of bipartisan patriotism to an otherwise contentious legislative session, the governor had sound reasons to veto it.
    And for what it’s worth, you’re not going to find many lawmakers as patriotic as Rep. Pete Johnson of Greenville, a highly-decorated retired Army colonel. And he was one of the six who voted against the bill.
    The governor’s trip to Florida may not accomplish very much, but it can’t hurt either.
  Jackson, who was the butt of an ill-conceived wisecrack from the governor earlier this year, has plenty of reasons to criticize him. But this may not be the best one.
    Mike Lange is a staff writer for the Piscataquis Observer. His opinions are his own and do not necessarily reflect the views of this paper. And he’d never go to Florida in August, even if someone else was paying for the trip.

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