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[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4553 Introduced in House (IH)]

111th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 4553

  To amend the Buy American Act with respect to certain waivers under 
   that Act, to provide greater transparency regarding exceptions to 
        domestic sourcing requirements, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            February 2, 2010

 Mr. Murphy of Connecticut (for himself, Ms. Sutton, Mr. Schauer, and 
Mr. Lipinski) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
              Committee on Oversight and Government Reform

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

 
  To amend the Buy American Act with respect to certain waivers under 
   that Act, to provide greater transparency regarding exceptions to 
        domestic sourcing requirements, 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 ``21st Century Buy American Act''.

SEC. 2. GRANTS TO DOMESTIC MANUFACTURERS.

    (a) Program Authorized.--The Secretary of Commerce is authorized to 
establish and carry out a program to award grants to eligible entities 
in accordance with this section.
    (b) Eligibility Requirements.--The Secretary of Commerce shall 
establish eligibility requirements for purposes of the grants under 
this section in order to provide assistance to any entity that--
            (1) is a manufacturer in the United States;
            (2) is a firm certified as eligible to apply for adjustment 
        assistance under section 251(c) of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 
        U.S.C. 2341(c)); and
            (3) meets one of the following criteria:
                    (A) The entity mines, produces, or manufactures a 
                nonavailable item.
                    (B) The entity is the last remaining manufacturer 
                of an item in the United States, as determined by the 
                Secretary of Commerce, and can prove hardship because 
                of foreign competition.
                    (C) The entity is the last remaining manufacturer 
                of an item in the United States and that item is 
                considered to be vital for national security purposes 
                by the Department of Defense or another department or 
                agency of the United States.
    (c) Amount of Grant.--The amount of any grant under this section 
may not exceed $5,000,000 per entity.
    (d) Use of Funds.--
            (1) In general.--Each eligible entity receiving a grant 
        under this section shall use the grant funds for any of the 
        following purposes:
                    (A) Increasing its ability to compete for a 
                Government contract for a nonavailable item.
                    (B) Increasing its ability to produce a 
                nonavailable item.
                    (C) Increasing its capacity to produce items that 
                are vital to national security.
                    (D) Increasing its capacity to create additional or 
                retain existing jobs.
                    (E) Modernizing or renovating existing 
                manufacturing facilities using domestically made 
                equipment.
                    (F) Covering costs associated with obtaining access 
                to adjustment assistance under chapter 3 of title II of 
                the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2341 et seq.).
            (2) Limitation.--No funds in a grant awarded under this 
        section may be used for profits of an eligible entity.
    (e) Application Requirements.--To receive a grant under this 
section, an eligible entity shall submit an application to the 
Secretary of Commerce at such time, in such manner, and containing such 
information as the Secretary may require. At a minimum, the application 
shall include a statement regarding the number of direct full-time 
domestic jobs expected to be created or retained as a result of the 
grant, but such statement shall not be the sole factor used in 
determining the award of the grant.
    (f) Annual Evaluation of Grant Recipients by Department of 
Commerce.--The Secretary of Commerce each year shall evaluate 
recipients of grants under this section to determine the proper 
allocation of grant funds.
    (g) Definition of Nonavailable Item.--In this section, the term 
``nonavailable item'' means an article, material, or supply--
            (1) that has been determined by a Federal agency, pursuant 
        to the Buy American Act (41 U.S.C. 10a et seq.), to not be 
        mined, produced, or manufactured in the United States in 
        sufficient and reasonably available commercial quantities of a 
        satisfactory quality;
            (2) that has been subject to a waiver under section 1605 of 
        the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 
        111-5; 123 Stat. 303); or
            (3) that is listed on the list of nonavailable articles 
        under subpart 25.104 of the Federal Acquisition Regulation.

SEC. 3. REQUIREMENTS RELATING TO CERTAIN WAIVERS OF BUY AMERICAN ACT.

    (a) Special Rules Relating to Certain Waivers.--Section 2 of the 
Buy American Act (41 U.S.C. 10a) is amended by adding at the end the 
following new subsection:
    ``(c) Special Rules.--The following rules apply in carrying out the 
provisions of subsection (a):
            ``(1) Use outside the united states.--
                    ``(A) In general.--Subsection (a) shall apply 
                without regard to whether the articles, materials, or 
                supplies to be acquired are for use outside the United 
                States if the articles, materials, or supplies are not 
                needed on an urgent basis or if they are acquired on a 
                regular basis.
                    ``(B) Cost analysis.--In any case in which the 
                articles, materials, or supplies are to be acquired for 
                use outside the United States and are not needed on an 
                urgent basis, before entering into a contract an 
                analysis shall be made of the difference in the cost of 
                acquiring the articles, materials, or supplies from a 
                company manufacturing the articles, materials, or 
                supplies in the United States (including the cost of 
                shipping) and the cost of acquiring the articles, 
                materials, or supplies from a company manufacturing the 
                articles, materials, or supplies outside the United 
                States (including the cost of shipping).
            ``(2) Effect on domestic employment.--In determining 
        whether a public interest waiver, or waiver for use outside the 
        United States, shall be granted under subsection (a), the head 
        of a Federal agency shall--
                    ``(A) consider the short-term and long-term effects 
                of granting such a waiver on employment within the 
                United States, taking into account information provided 
                by entities that manufacture the articles, materials, 
                or supplies concerned in the United States; and
                    ``(B) determine that preserving or increasing 
                employment within the United States is consistent with 
                the public interest.''.
    (b) Definition.--Section 1 of the Buy American Act (41 U.S.C. 10c) 
is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:
    ``(c) Substantially All.--Articles, materials, or supplies shall be 
treated as made substantially all from articles, materials, or supplies 
mined, produced, or manufactured in the United States, if the cost of 
the domestic components of such articles, materials, or supplies 
exceeds 60 percent of the total cost of all components of such 
articles, materials, or supplies.''.

SEC. 4. TRANSPARENCY REQUIREMENTS.

    (a) Requirement for Agencies To Notify OMB.--Each agency that 
applies an exception to the Buy American Act (41 U.S.C. 10a et seq.) 
shall submit to the Director of the Office of Management and Budget a 
notification of the application of the exception and a statement 
describing the procurement and the exception being applied.
    (b) Requirement for Director of OMB To Post on Web Site.--Within 7 
days after receipt of any notification under subsection (a), the 
Director of the Office of Management and Budget shall post the 
notification on a central, publicly accessible Web site of the Office.
    (c) Definition of Agency.--In this section, the term ``agency'' has 
the meaning given under section 551 of title 5, United States Code.

SEC. 5. REQUIREMENT FOR ANNUAL REPORT BY COMPTROLLER GENERAL ON 
              EXCEPTIONS TO BUY AMERICAN ACT AND OTHER DOMESTIC SOURCE 
              REQUIREMENTS.

    (a) Report Requirement.--
            (1) In general.--Not later than 60 days after the end of a 
        fiscal year, the Comptroller General of the United States shall 
        submit to Congress a report on the amount of the acquisitions 
        made by each agency in that fiscal year of articles, materials, 
        or supplies purchased from entities that manufacture the 
        articles, materials, or supplies outside of the United States.
            (2) Contents of report.--The report required by paragraph 
        (1) shall separately include, for the fiscal year covered by 
        such report--
                    (A) the dollar value of any articles, materials, or 
                supplies that were manufactured outside the United 
                States;
                    (B) an itemized list of all waivers granted with 
                respect to such articles, materials, or supplies under 
                the Buy American Act (41 U.S.C. 10a et seq.), section 
                1605(a) of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act 
                of 2009 (123 Stat. 303), or any other law that requires 
                procurement of goods or services from a domestic 
                source, and a citation to the treaty, international 
                agreement, or other law under which each waiver was 
                granted;
                    (C) if any articles, materials, or supplies were 
                acquired from entities that manufacture articles, 
                materials, or supplies outside the United States, the 
                specific exception under section 2 of the Buy American 
                Act (41 U.S.C. 10a), section 1605(a) of the American 
                Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (123 Stat. 303), 
                or any other law that requires procurement of goods or 
                services from a domestic source, that was used to 
                purchase such articles, materials, or supplies; and
                    (D) a summary of--
                            (i) the total procurement funds expended on 
                        articles, materials, and supplies manufactured 
                        inside the United States; and
                            (ii) the total procurement funds expended 
                        on articles, materials, and supplies 
                        manufactured outside the United States.
    (b) Public Availability.--The Comptroller General shall make the 
report publicly available to the maximum extent practicable.
    (c) Exception for Intelligence Community.--The report required 
under this section shall not cover acquisitions made by an agency, or 
component thereof, that is an element of the intelligence community as 
specified in, or designated under section 3(4) of the National Security 
Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 401a(4)).
    (d) Definition of Agency.--In this section, the term ``agency'' has 
the meaning given under section 551 of title 5, United States Code.
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