WASHINGTON, D.C. -- U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley of Oregon is trying to get the government to buy American. He introduced legislation Wednesdsay called the "Invest in American Jobs Act." It expands the potential to buy American provisions, so that all major projects overseen by the U.S. Department of Transportation would strive to buy from the U.S. 

"This supports the concept when we build things in America, we create more good-paying jobs and grow the middle class and improve the economy," Merkley says. "This is an important component on that."

The goal of the bill is to require federally funded transportation projects to use American steel, iron and other products whenever possible.