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NEWS RELEASE
For Immediate Release
The DOE Tours Full Spectrum Solutions' New U.S. Manufacturing Facility
Jackson, MI– July 22, 2010 – Mark Johnson from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and Amy Butler from the Michigan Department of Energy, Labor and Economic Growth (DELEG) toured Full Spectrum Solutions new world headquarters and state-of-the-art lighting manufacturing facility. Johnson flew in from Washington DC to meet with Amy Butler on DOE projects they are working on and wanted to visit some new, advanced lighting technology manufacturers. Johnson also saw firsthand the new EverLast® products that Full Spectrum Solutions is manufacturing. He stated he would work diligently to ensure that money awarded through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) was spent correctly on legitimate U.S. made products.
Johnson works for the DOE's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, whose main goal is to strengthen the United States' energy security, environmental quality, and economic vitality in public-private partnerships. It supports this goal through enhancing energy efficiency and productivity; and bringing clean, reliable and affordable energy technologies to the marketplace.1
When President Obama passed the ARRA in February of 2009, it seemed that Full Spectrum Solutions was in the right place at the right time because the ARRA had a Buy American provision (Section 1605) that required ARRA funds be spent on U.S. manufactured goods. "We thought we had just won the lottery because we were one of only a few lighting companies that were actually manufacturing in the U.S.," exclaimed Michael Nevins, President/CEO of Full Spectrum Solutions. However, Nevins soon realized this was not the case.
"Shortly after ARRA funds were allocated, supposed U.S. lighting manufacturers were popping up right and left," Nevins said. "It wasn't difficult to prove that our competitors' claims of being 'Made in the U.S.A.' were part of a 'get rich quick' scheme." After spending months watching jobs being awarded to companies falsely claiming to be U.S. manufacturers, Full Spectrum Solutions engaged U.S. Congressman Mark Schauer, who is currently working on addressing trade issues with China and was very familiar with the situation.
Full Spectrum Solutions presented Schauer's office with evidence they had gathered over the last six months, resulting in his office conducting its own investigation to verify the allegations presented by Full Spectrum Solutions were correct. After concluding their investigation, Scahuer's office began their own initiative to pursue the issue. On June 22nd Congressman Schauer wrote Vice President Joe Biden on behalf of all U.S. manufacturers, American taxpayers, and American workers.
Less than three weeks later, Schauer's office received a response letter from the Vice President outlining ways in which the DOE and the Office of Management and Budget are addressing the concerns made by Schauer's office. According to the letter, the DOE has done the following: sent letters of inquiry to the companies identified in Full Spectrum's submission, asking them to submit documentation confirming that the products in question were manufactured in the U.S.; sent a "Program Alert" to all grantees reminding them of their responsibilities under the Buy American Act; and created a Buy American complaints "hotline" function on its website.2
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