Pennsylvania Dem slams Census Bureau for not buying American

Pennsylvania House candidate Mark Critz (D) took aim at the Census Bureau for ordering swag from foreign manufacturers.

Critz called it "appalling" that the Bureau had spent $6.4 million on "Census 2010" hats made in China and collared shirts from Central America.

"We used to have hat and shirt factories all over this district," he said at a press conference Thursday at the Bureau's downtown Johnstown headquarters. "With (John) Murtha, it was 'Buy American.'"

According to the Johnstown Tribune-Democrat, he showed reporters one of the red shirt's "Made in" label, which said El Salvador.

"We're in a position where unemployment is going up. People are in pain. Children are in pain," he said. "We have to support one another."

Critz said he wasn't against foreign trade. "We have to work with these countries," he said. "It's not a matter of drawing a line in the sand. It's a conversation that needs to take place."

He faces Republican Tim Burns in the May special election to fill the late Murtha's House seat.