Did you know the Pentagon has issued 161,711 waivers to avoid buying American? That it has cost us 620,000 manufacturing jobs and $53.5 billion dollars since 2007? So says a new report from the House of Representatives Buy American Caucus Chair, Chris Murphy.

Today, Congressman Chris Murphy, Chair of the House Buy American Caucus, was joined by local manufacturers and advocates for American manufacturing to unveil a report showing that federal policies of the Department of Defense are costing as many as 620,000 American manufacturing jobs. By issuing over 161,000 waivers to the Buy American Act, the Department of Defense has sent $53.5 billion to overseas contractors since 2007.

How in God's name could the Pentagon do this, considering the United States has a massive jobs crisis and that is, after all, U.S. taxpayer money. First, the Buy American act allows exceptions.

The Buy American Act, which has governed federal procurement since 1933, is full of loopholes and exceptions that allow billions of dollars to flow out of the country each year. Two of the biggest loopholes allow for waivers for any product that is to be used overseas, or for products in which the Department of Defense finds that there are no domestic suppliers.

But wait for it, the DoD is claiming there are no domestic suppliers when in fact there are. Some American Business are screaming political bloody murder as loud as they can about the Pentagon snub too.