I 
117TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 5395 
To strengthen Buy American requirements, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
SEPTEMBER 28, 2021 
Mr. DELGADO (for himself and Mr. FITZPATRICK) introduced the following 
bill; which was referred to the Committee on Oversight and Reform, and 
in addition to the Committee on Ways and Means, for a period to be sub-
sequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of 
such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To strengthen Buy American requirements, and for other 
purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘BuyAmerican.gov Act 
of 2021’’. 
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
(1) BUY
AMERICAN
LAW.—The term ‘‘Buy 
American law’’ means any law, regulation, Executive 
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order, or rule relating to Federal contracts, grants, 
or financial assistance that requires or provides a 
preference for the purchase or use of goods, prod-
ucts, or materials mined, produced, or manufactured 
in the United States, including— 
(A) chapter 83 of title 41, United States 
Code (commonly referred to as the ‘‘Buy Amer-
ican Act’’); 
(B) section 5323(j) of title 49, United 
States Code; 
(C) section 313 of title 23, United States 
Code; 
(D) section 50101 of title 49, United 
States Code; 
(E) section 24405 of title 49, United 
States Code; 
(F) section 608 of the Federal Water Pol-
lution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1388); 
(G) section 1452(a)(4) of the Safe Drink-
ing Water Act (42 U.S.C. 300j–12(a)(4)); 
(H) section 5035 of the Water Resources 
Reform and Development Act of 2014 (33 
U.S.C. 3914); 
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(I) section 2533a of title 10, United States 
Code (commonly referred to as the ‘‘Berry 
Amendment’’); 
(J) section 2533b of title 10, United 
States Code; and 
(K) section 604 of the American Recovery 
and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (6 U.S.C. 453b). 
(2) EXECUTIVE AGENCY.—The term ‘‘executive 
agency’’ has the meaning given the term in section 
133 of title 41, United States Code. 
SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON BUYING AMERICAN. 
It is the sense of Congress that— 
(1) every executive agency should maximize, 
through terms and conditions of Federal financial 
assistance awards and Federal procurements, the 
use of goods, products, and materials produced in 
the United States and contracts for outsourced gov-
ernment service contracts to be performed by United 
States nationals; 
(2) every executive agency should scrupulously 
monitor, enforce, and comply with Buy American 
Laws, to the extent they apply, and minimize the 
use of waivers; and 
(3) every executive agency should implement 
processes to routinely audit its compliance with Buy 
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American laws using data from the Federal Procure-
ment Data System-Next Generation. 
SEC. 4. REPORT ON BUY AMERICAN COMPLIANCE EF-
FORTS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the 
date of the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter 
for two years, the Secretary of Commerce, in consultation 
with the Director of the Office of Management and Budg-
et, the United States Trade Representative, the Secretary 
of State, and the heads of other executive agencies, shall 
submit to Congress and the President a report on the im-
plementation of, and compliance with, Buy American laws. 
(b) ELEMENTS.—The report required under sub-
section (a) shall include the following elements: 
(1) An assessment of the monitoring of, en-
forcement of, implementation of, and compliance 
with Buy American Laws within each executive 
agency. 
(2) A listing of each waiver and exception used 
by an executive agency and an assessment of waivers 
by type and impact on domestic jobs and manufac-
turing. 
(3) Recommendations for policies for executive 
agencies to ensure that, to the extent permitted by 
law, Federal financial assistance awards and Federal 
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contacts maximize the use of goods, products, and 
materials mined, produced, and manufactured in the 
United States, including manufactured products, 
components of manufactured products, and mate-
rials such as steel, iron, aluminum, and cement and 
services. 
(c) AGENCY REPORTS.—Not later than 180 days 
after the date of the enactment of this Act, and annually 
thereafter for two years, the head of each executive agency 
shall submit to the Secretary of Commerce and the Direc-
tor of the Office of Management and Budget a report on 
the implementation of, and compliance with, Buy Amer-
ican laws and covering with respect to that agency the ele-
ments set forth in subsection (b). 
(d) GUIDANCE.—The head of each executive agency 
shall review the guidance issued to executive agencies in 
accordance with Executive Order 13788 regarding assess-
ment of waivers and policies addressing Buy American 
laws and, as necessary, issue additional guidance. 
SEC. 5. ASSESSMENT OF IMPACT OF FREE TRADE AGREE-
MENTS. 
Not later than 150 days after the date of the enact-
ment of this Act, the Secretary of Commerce and the 
United States Trade Representative shall assess the im-
pacts in a publicly available report of all United States 
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free trade agreements and the World Trade Organization 
Agreement on Government Procurement on the operation 
of Buy American Laws, including their impacts on the im-
plementation of domestic procurement preferences. 
SEC. 6. JUDICIOUS USE OF WAIVERS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—To the extent permitted by law, 
public interest waivers from Buy American Laws shall be 
construed to ensure the maximum utilization of goods, 
products, and materials produced in the United States. 
(b) PUBLIC INTEREST WAIVER DETERMINATIONS.— 
To the extent permitted by law, determination of public 
interest waivers shall be made by the head of the agency 
with the authority over the Federal financial assistance 
award or Federal procurement under consideration. 
SEC. 7. ESTABLISHMENT OF BUYAMERICAN.GOV WEBSITE. 
Not later than one year after the date of the enact-
ment of this Act, the Administrator of General Services 
shall establish an internet website with the address 
BuyAmerican.gov that will be publicly available and free 
to access. The website shall include information on all 
waivers of and exceptions to Buy American laws that have 
been requested, are under consideration, or have been 
granted by executive agencies and be designed to enable 
manufacturers and other interested parties to easily iden-
tify waivers. The website shall also include the results of 
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routine audits of the Federal Procurement Data System- 
Next Generation to determine data errors and Buy Amer-
ican law violations after the award of a contract. The 
website shall provide publicly available contact information 
for the contracting agencies. 
SEC. 8. WAIVER TRANSPARENCY AND STREAMLINING FOR 
GRANTS. 
(a) COLLECTION OF INFORMATION.—The President, 
in consultation with the heads of relevant agencies, shall 
develop a mechanism to collect information on requests to 
waive Buy American laws and other domestic content re-
strictions, utilizing existing reporting requirements when-
ever possible, for purposes of providing early notice to pos-
sible waivers via the website established under subsection 
(a). The heads of executive agencies shall report to the 
Administrator as quickly as possible waivers requested or 
under consideration and waivers granted due to the non- 
availability of procured items or service providers for pur-
poses of posting such information on the website estab-
lished under such subsection. 
(b) WAIVER TRANSPARENCY AND STREAMLINING.— 
Not less than 20 days prior to waiving, under his or her 
statutory authority, any applicable Buy American law, the 
head of an executive agency shall submit to the Adminis-
trator of General Services a notice of the agency’s inten-
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tion to waive the Buy American law. Not later than 5 days 
after receiving this information from the head of an execu-
tive agency, the Administrator of General Services shall 
make available to the public, by posting on the website 
established under section 7, a copy of the information pro-
vided pursuant to subsection (a), and shall allow for infor-
mal public comment on the request for at least 15 days 
prior to making a finding based on the request. 
(c) INFORMATION AVAILABLE TO THE EXECUTIVE 
AGENCY CONCERNING THE REQUEST.— 
(1) REQUIREMENT.—No requested waiver of an 
applicable Buy American Law may be granted if, in 
contravention of subsection (b)— 
(A) information about the waiver was not 
made available on the website under section 7; 
or 
(B) no opportunity for public comment 
concerning the request was granted. 
(2) SCOPE.—Information made available to the 
public concerning the request included on the 
website described in section 7 shall properly and 
adequately document and justify the statutory basis 
cited for the requested waiver. Such information 
shall include— 
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(A) a detailed justification for the use of 
goods, products, or materials mined, produced, 
or manufactured outside the United States; 
(B) for requests citing unreasonable cost 
as the statutory basis of the waiver, a compari-
son of the cost of the domestic product to the 
cost of the foreign product or a comparison of 
the overall cost of the project with domestic 
products to the overall cost of the project with 
foreign-origin products or services, pursuant to 
the requirements of the applicable Buy Amer-
ican law, except that publicly available cost 
comparison data may be provided in lieu of pro-
prietary pricing information; 
(C) for requests citing the public interest 
as the statutory basis for the waiver, a detailed 
written statement, which shall include all appro-
priate factors, such as potential obligations 
under international agreements, justifying why 
the requested waiver is in the public interest; 
and 
(D) a certification that the procurement 
official or assistance recipient made a good 
faith effort to solicit bids for domestic products 
supported by terms included in requests for 
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proposals, contracts, and nonproprietary com-
munications with the prime contractor. 
(d) NONAVAILABILITY WAIVERS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided under 
paragraph (2), for a request citing nonavailability as 
the statutory basis for a waiver, an executive agency 
shall provide an explanation of the procurement offi-
cial’s efforts to procure a product from a domestic 
source and the reasons why a domestic product was 
not suitable. Those explanations shall be made avail-
able on BuyAmerican.gov prior to the issuance of 
the waiver, and the agency shall consider public 
comments regarding the availability of the product 
before making a final determination. 
(2) EXCEPTION.—An explanation under para-
graph (1) is not required for a product the nonavail-
ability of which is established by law or regulation. 
SEC. 9. WAIVER TRANSPARENCY AND STREAMLINING FOR 
PROCUREMENT. 
(a) PUBLICATION OF INFORMATION.—Not less than 
20 days prior to waiving, pursuant to statutory authority, 
any applicable Buy American law, the head of an executive 
agency shall make information concerning the intention to 
issue a waiver or exception in connection with a Federal 
procurement available to the Administrator of General 
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Services. A notice of the agency’s intention to waive a Buy 
American law shall be made available to the public 
through BuyAmerican.gov and shall include the statutory 
basis for exercise of the waiver or exception. 
(b) NONAVAILABILITY WAIVERS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided under 
paragraph (2), for a request citing nonavailability as 
the statutory basis for a waiver, an executive agency 
shall provide an explanation of the procurement offi-
cial’s efforts to procure a product from a domestic 
source and the reasons why a domestic product was 
not suitable. The explanation shall be made available 
on BuyAmerican.gov prior to the issuance of the 
waiver, and the agency shall consider public com-
ments regarding the availability of the product be-
fore making a final determination. 
(2) EXCEPTION.—An explanation under para-
graph (1) is not required for a product the nonavail-
ability of which is established by law or regulation. 
SEC. 10. COMPTROLLER GENERAL REPORT. 
Not later than two years after the date of the enact-
ment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United 
States shall submit to Congress a report describing the 
implementation of this Act, including recommendations 
for any legislation to improve the collection and reporting 
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of information regarding waivers of and exceptions to Buy 
American laws. 
SEC. 11. RULES OF CONSTRUCTION. 
(a) DISCLOSURE REQUIREMENTS.—Nothing in this 
Act shall be construed as preempting, superseding, or oth-
erwise affecting the application of any disclosure require-
ment or requirements otherwise provided by law or regula-
tion. 
(b) ESTABLISHMENT OF SUCCESSOR INFORMATION 
SYSTEMS.—Nothing in this Act shall be construed as pre-
venting or otherwise limiting the ability of the Adminis-
trator of General Services to move the data required to 
be included on the website established under subsection 
(a) to a successor information system. Any such informa-
tion system shall include a reference to BuyAmerican.gov. 
SEC. 12. CONSISTENCY WITH INTERNATIONAL AGREE-
MENTS. 
This Act shall be applied in a manner consistent with 
United States obligations under international agreements. 
Æ 
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