Build America, Buy America Act
This bill requires federal infrastructure programs to provide for the use of materials produced in the United States.
Each federal agency must submit to the Office of Management and Budget and to Congress a report that identifies each federal financial assistance program for infrastructure administered by the agency and (1) identify domestic content procurement preferences applicable to the assistance, (2) assess the applicability of such requirements, (3) provide details on any applicable domestic content procurement preference requirement, and (4) include a description of the type of infrastructure projects that receive funding under the program.
Each agency shall ensure that none of the funds made available for such a program may be used for a project unless all of the iron, steel, and manufactured products used in the project are produced in the United States, subject to waivers where inconsistent with the public interest, where not produced in sufficient quantities or satisfactory quality, or where such inclusion will increase the cost of the project by more than 25%.
[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2810 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
117th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 2810
To ensure that certain Federal infrastructure programs require the use
of materials produced in the United States, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
April 22, 2021
Mr. Ryan (for himself, Mr. Aderholt, and Mr. Mrvan) introduced the
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation
and Infrastructure, and in addition to the Committee on Energy and
Commerce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in
each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the
jurisdiction of the committee concerned
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To ensure that certain Federal infrastructure programs require the use
of materials produced in the United States, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Build America, Buy America Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds that--
(1) the United States must make significant investments to
install, upgrade, or replace the public works infrastructure of
the United States;
(2) with respect to investments in the infrastructure of
the United States, taxpayers expect that their public works
infrastructure will be produced in the United States by
American workers;
(3) United States taxpayer dollars invested in public
infrastructure should not be used to reward companies that have
moved their operations, investment dollars, and jobs to foreign
countries or foreign factories, particularly those that do not
share or openly flout the commitments of the United States to
environmental, worker, and workplace safety protections;
(4) in procuring materials for public works projects,
entities using taxpayer-financed Federal assistance should give
a commonsense procurement preference for the materials and
products produced by companies and workers in the United States
in accordance with the high ideals embodied in the
environmental, worker, workplace safety, and other regulatory
requirements of the United States;
(5) the benefits of domestic content preferences extend
beyond economics;
(6) by incentivizing domestic manufacturing, domestic
content preferences reinvest tax dollars in companies and
processes using the highest labor and environmental standards
in the world;
(7) strong domestic content preference policies act to
prevent shifts in production to countries that rely on
production practices that are significantly less energy
efficient and far more polluting than those in the United
States;
(8) for over 75 years, Buy America and other domestic
preference laws have been part of the United States procurement
policy, ensuring that the United States can build and rebuild
the infrastructure of the United States with high-quality
American-made materials;
(9) Buy America laws create demand for domestically
produced goods, helping to sustain and grow domestic
manufacturing and the millions of jobs domestic manufacturing
supports throughout product supply chains;
(10) as of the date of enactment of this Act, domestic
procurement preference policies apply to all Federal Government
procurement and to various Federal-aid infrastructure programs;
(11) a robust domestic manufacturing sector is a vital
component of the national security of the United States;
(12) as more manufacturing operations of the United States
have moved offshore, the strength and readiness of the defense
industrial base of the United States has been diminished; and
(13) domestic procurement preference laws--
(A) are fully consistent with the international
obligations of the United States; and
(B) together with the government procurements to
which the laws apply, are important levers for ensuring
that United States manufacturers can access the
government procurement markets of the trading partners
of the United States.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Deficient program.--The term ``deficient program''
means a program identified by the head of a Federal agency
under section 4(c).
(2) Domestic content procurement preference.--The term
``domestic content procurement preference'' means a requirement
that no amounts made available through a program for Federal
financial assistance may be obligated for a project unless--
(A) all iron and steel used in the project are
produced in the United States; or
(B) the manufactured products used in the project
are produced in the United States.
(3) Federal agency.--The term ``Federal agency'' has the
meaning given the term ``agency'' in section 552(f) of title 5,
United States Code.
(4) Federal financial assistance.--
(A) In general.--The term ``Federal financial
assistance'' has the meaning given the term in section
200.40 of title 2, Code of Federal Regulations (or
successor regulations).
(B) Inclusion.--The term ``Federal financial
assistance'' includes all expenditures by a Federal
agency for an infrastructure project.
(5) Infrastructure.--The term ``infrastructure'' includes,
at a minimum, the structures, facilities, and equipment for, in
the United States--
(A) roads, highways, and bridges;
(B) public transportation;
(C) dams, ports, harbors, and other maritime
facilities;
(D) intercity passenger and freight railroads;
(E) freight and intermodal facilities;
(F) airports;
(G) water systems, including drinking water and
wastewater systems;
(H) electrical transmission facilities and systems;
(I) utilities;
(J) broadband infrastructure; and
(K) buildings and real property.
(6) Produced in the united states.--The term ``produced in
the United States'' means, in the case of iron or steel
products, that all manufacturing processes, from the initial
melting stage through the application of coatings, occurred in
the United States.
(7) Project.--The term ``project'' means the construction,
alteration, maintenance, or repair of infrastructure in the
United States.
SEC. 4. IDENTIFICATION OF DEFICIENT PROGRAMS.
(a) In General.--Not later than 60 days after the date of enactment
of this Act, the head of each Federal agency shall--
(1) submit to the Office of Management and Budget and to
Congress, including a separate notice to each appropriate
congressional committee, a report that identifies each Federal
financial assistance program for infrastructure administered by
the Federal agency; and
(2) publish in the Federal Register the report under
paragraph (1).
(b) Requirements.--In the report under subsection (a), the head of
each Federal agency shall, for each Federal financial assistance
program--
(1) identify all domestic content procurement preferences
applicable to the Federal financial assistance;
(2) assess the applicability of the domestic content
procurement preference requirements, including--
(A) section 313 of title 23, United States Code;
(B) section 5323(j) of title 49, United States
Code;
(C) section 22905(a) of title 49, United States
Code;
(D) section 50101 of title 49, United States Code;
(E) section 603 of the Federal Water Pollution
Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1388);
(F) section 1452(a)(4) of the Safe Drinking Water
Act (42 U.S.C. 300j-12(a)(4));
(G) section 5035 of the Water Infrastructure
Finance and Innovation Act of 2014 (33 U.S.C. 3914);
(H) any domestic content procurement preference
included in an appropriations Act; and
(I) any other domestic content procurement
preference in Federal law (including regulations);
(3) provide details on any applicable domestic content
procurement preference requirement, including the purpose,
scope, applicability, and any exceptions and waivers issued
under the requirement; and
(4) include a description of the type of infrastructure
projects that receive funding under the program, including
information relating to--
(A) the number of entities that are participating
in the program;
(B) the amount of Federal funds that are made
available for the program for each fiscal year; and
(C) any other information the head of the Federal
agency determines to be relevant.
(c) List of Deficient Programs.--In the report under subsection
(a), the head of each Federal agency shall include a list of Federal
financial assistance programs for infrastructure identified under that
subsection for which a domestic content procurement preference
requirement--
(1) does not apply; or
(2) is subject to a waiver of general applicability not
limited to the use of specific products for use in a specific
project.
SEC. 5. APPLICATION OF BUY AMERICA PREFERENCE.
(a) In General.--Not later than 180 days after the date of
enactment of this Act, the head of each Federal agency shall ensure
that none of the funds made available for a Federal financial
assistance program for infrastructure, including each deficient
program, may be used for a project unless all of the iron, steel, and
manufactured products used in the project are produced in the United
States.
(b) Waiver.--The head of a Federal agency that applies a domestic
content procurement preference under this section may waive the
application of that preference in any case in which the head of the
Federal agency finds that--
(1) applying the domestic content procurement preference
would be inconsistent with the public interest;
(2) types of iron, steel, or manufactured products are not
produced in the United States in sufficient and reasonably
available quantities or of a satisfactory quality; or
(3) the inclusion of iron, steel, or manufactured products
produced in the United States will increase the cost of the
overall project by more than 25 percent.
(c) Written Justification.--Before issuing a waiver under
subsection (b), the head of the Federal agency shall--
(1) publish in the Federal Register and make publicly
available in an easily accessible location on the website of
the Federal agency a detailed written explanation for the
proposed determination to issue the waiver; and
(2) provide a reasonable period for public comment on the
proposed waiver.
(d) Prohibition on Waivers of General Applicability.--A waiver
issued under subsection (b) shall be limited to the use of specific
products for use in a specific project.
(e) Consistency With International Agreements.--This section shall
be applied in a manner consistent with United States obligations under
international agreements.
SEC. 6. OMB GUIDANCE.
The Director of the Office of Management and Budget shall--
(1) issue guidance to the head of each Federal agency--
(A) to assist in identifying deficient programs
under section 4(c); and
(B) to assist in applying new domestic content
procurement preferences under section 5; and
(2) if necessary, amend subtitle A of title 2, Code of
Federal Regulations (or successor regulations), to ensure that
domestic content procurement preference requirements required
by this Act or other Federal law are imposed through the terms
and conditions of awards of Federal financial assistance.
SEC. 7. APPLICATION.
(a) In General.--This Act shall apply to a Federal financial
assistance program for infrastructure only to the extent that a
domestic content procurement preference as described in section 5 does
not already apply to iron, steel, and manufactured products.
(b) Savings Provision.--Nothing in this Act affects a domestic
content procurement preference for a Federal financial assistance
program for infrastructure that is in effect and that meets the
requirements of section 5.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and in addition to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and in addition to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Aviation.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings, and Emergency Management.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Highways and Transit.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Consumer Protection and Commerce.
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