I 
108TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2014
To prohibit the Department of Homeland Security from procuring certain 
items unless the items are grown, reprocessed, reused, or produced in 
the United States. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 7, 2003
Mr. HAYES introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 
on Government Reform 
A BILL 
To prohibit the Department of Homeland Security from pro-
curing certain items unless the items are grown, reproc-
essed, reused, or produced in the United States.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. BUY-AMERICAN REQUIREMENT IMPOSED ON 
DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY; EX-
CEPTIONS. 
(a) REQUIREMENT.—Except as provided in sub-
sections (c) through (e), funds appropriated or otherwise 
available to the Department of Homeland Security may 
not be used for the procurement of an item described in
subsection (b) if the item is not grown, reprocessed, re-
used, or produced in the United States. 
(b) COVERED ITEMS.—An item referred to in sub-
section (a) is any of the following: 
(1) An article or item of—
(A) food; 
(B) clothing and the materials and compo-
nents thereof; 
(C) tents, tarpaulins, or covers; 
(D) cotton and other natural fiber prod-
ucts, woven silk or woven silk blends, spun silk 
yarn for cartridge cloth, synthetic fabric or 
coated synthetic fabric (including all textile fi-
bers and yarns that are for use in such fabrics), 
canvas products, or wool (whether in the form 
of fiber or yarn or contained in fabrics, mate-
rials, or manufactured articles); or 
(E) any item of individual equipment man-
ufactured from or containing such fibers, yarns, 
fabrics, or materials. 
(2) Specialty metals, including stainless steel 
flatware. 
(3) Hand or measuring tools. 
(c) AVAILABILITY EXCEPTION.—Subsection (a) does 
not apply to the extent that the Secretary of Homeland
Security determines that satisfactory quality and suffi-
cient quantity of any such article or item described in sub-
section (b)(1) or specialty metals (including stainless steel 
flatware) grown, reprocessed, reused, or produced in the 
United States cannot be procured as and when needed at 
United States market prices. 
(d) EXCEPTION FOR CERTAIN PROCUREMENTS OUT-
SIDE
THE UNITED STATES.—Subsection (a) does not 
apply to the following: 
(1) Procurements by vessels in foreign waters. 
(2) Emergency procurements or procurements 
of perishable foods by an establishment located out-
side the United States for the personnel attached to 
such establishment. 
(e) EXCEPTION
FOR
SMALL
PURCHASES.—Sub-
section (a) does not apply to purchases for amounts not 
greater than the simplified acquisition threshold referred 
to in section 2304(g) of title 10, United States Code. 
(f) APPLICABILITY
TO
CONTRACTS
AND
SUB-
CONTRACTS
FOR
PROCUREMENT
OF
COMMERCIAL 
ITEMS.—This section is applicable to contracts and sub-
contracts for the procurement of commercial items not-
withstanding section 34 of the Office of Federal Procure-
ment Policy Act (41 U.S.C. 430).
(g) GEOGRAPHIC COVERAGE.—In this section, the 
term ‘‘United States’’ includes the possessions of the 
United States.
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