Title: BuyAmerican.gov Act of 2018
Policy area: Government Operations and Politics

Summary:
BuyAmerican.gov Act of 2018
This bill requires the General Services Administration to establish a publicly available website that contains details regarding waivers of and exceptions to Buy American laws. The website must contain information on all waivers and exceptions that have been requested, are under consideration, or have been granted by federal agencies.
The bill also: (1) specifies requirements for granting public interest waivers of Buy American laws; and (2) requires the Department of Commerce to report to Congress and the President on the implementation of, and compliance with, Buy American laws.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6907 Introduced in House (IH)]

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115th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 6907

    To strengthen Buy American requirements, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 26, 2018

Mr. Lipinski (for himself and Mr. Bost) introduced the following bill; 
which was referred to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, 
and in addition to the Committee on Ways and Means, 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 strengthen Buy American 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 ``BuyAmerican.gov Act of 2018''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Buy american law.--The term ``Buy American Law'' means 
        any law, regulation, Executive order, regulation, or rule 
        relating to Federal contracts or grants that requires or 
        provides a preference for the purchase or use of goods, 
        products, 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 American Act'');
                    (B) section 5323(j) of title 49, United States Code 
                (commonly referred to as the ``Buy America Act'');
                    (C) section 2533a of title 10, United States Code 
                (commonly referred to as the ``Berry Amendment'');
                    (D) section 2533b of title 10, United States Code; 
                and
                    (E) 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 
        government service contracts to be performed by United States 
        nationals; and
            (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.

SEC. 4. REPORT ON BUY AMERICAN COMPLIANCE EFFORTS.

    (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 Budget, 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 implementation of, 
and compliance with, Buy American laws.
    (b) Elements.--The report required under subsection (a) shall 
include the following elements:
            (1) An assessment of the monitoring of, enforcement 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 manufacturing.
            (3) Recommendations for policies for executive agencies to 
        ensure that, to the extent permitted by law, Federal financial 
        assistance awards and Federal 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 materials 
        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 Director of the Office of Management and Budget a report on the 
implementation of, and compliance with, Buy American laws and covering 
with respect to that agency the elements set forth in subsection (b).
    (d) Guidance.--Not later than 60 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Commerce and the Director of 
the Office of Management and Budget, in consultation with the Secretary 
of State, the Secretary of Labor, the United States Trade 
Representative, and the Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council, shall 
issue guidance to executive agencies regarding how to make the required 
waiver assessments and develop the policies required under this 
section.

SEC. 5. ASSESSMENT OF IMPACT OF FREE TRADE AGREEMENTS.

    Not later than 150 days after the date of the enactment of this 
Act, the Secretary of Commerce and the United States Trade 
Representative shall assess the impacts of all United States free trade 
agreements and the World Trade Organization Agreement on Government 
Procurement on the operation of Buy American Laws, including their 
impacts on the implementation 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.
    (c) Consideration of Dumping and Subsidies.--To the extent 
permitted by law, before granting a public interest waiver, the head of 
an executive agency shall take appropriate account of whether a 
significant portion of the cost advantage of a foreign-sourced product 
is the result of the use of dumped steel, iron, or manufactured goods, 
the use of subsidized steel, iron, or manufactured goods, or the use of 
steel, iron, or manufactured goods that have entered the United States 
in violation of United States customs laws and shall, as appropriate, 
integrate any findings into its waiver determination.

SEC. 7. WAIVER TRANSPARENCY AND STREAMLINING THROUGH THE ESTABLISHMENT 
              OF BUYAMERICAN.GOV WEBSITE.

    (a) In General.--Not later than one year after the date of the 
enactment 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 identify waivers, and shall 
provide publicly available contact information for the contracting 
agencies.
    (b) 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 restrictions, utilizing existing reporting requirements 
whenever possible, for purposes of providing early notice to possible 
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 
purposes of posting such information on the website established under 
such subsection.
    (c) 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 
Administrator of General Services a copy of the request and information 
available to the executive agency concerning the request. Not later 
than 5 days after receiving this information from the head of an 
executive agency, the Administrator of General Services shall make 
available to the public, by posting on the website established under 
subsection (a), a copy of the request and information available to the 
executive agency concerning the request, and shall allow for informal 
public comment on the request for at least 15 days prior to making a 
finding based on the request.
    (d) 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 
        (c)--
                    (A) the request was not made available to the 
                public;
                    (B) the information available to the executive 
                agency concerning the request was not made available to 
                the public; or
                    (C) no opportunity for public comment concerning 
                the request was granted.
            (2) Scope.--Information made available to the public under 
        this section concerning the request shall properly and 
        adequately document and justify the statutory basis cited for 
        the requested waiver. Such information shall include--
                    (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 comparison 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 
                American law, except that publicly available cost 
                comparison data may be provided in lieu of proprietary 
                pricing information;
                    (C) for requests citing availability, quantity, or 
                quality as the statutory basis for the waiver, 
                information from a reasonable number of domestic 
                suppliers concerning a product's availability, 
                quantity, or quality, documentation of the procurement 
                official's or assistance recipient's efforts to procure 
                from domestic sources and relevant excerpts from 
                project plans, specifications, and permits indicating 
                the required quantity and quality of the relevant 
                products;
                    (D) for requests citing the public interest as the 
                statutory basis for the waiver, a detailed written 
                statement, which shall include all appropriate factors, 
                such as potential obligations under international 
                agreements, justifying why the requested waiver is in 
                the public interest; and
                    (E) 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 proposals, contracts, and 
                communications with the prime contractor.
    (e) Comptroller General Report.--Not later than two years after the 
date of the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the 
United States shall submit to Congress a report describing the 
implementation of this section, including recommendations for any 
legislation to improve the collection and reporting of information 
regarding waivers of and exceptions to Buy American laws.
    (f) Rules of Construction.--
            (1) Disclosure requirements.--Nothing in this section shall 
        be construed as preempting, superseding, or otherwise affecting 
        the application of any disclosure requirement or requirements 
        otherwise provided by law or regulation.
            (2) Establishment of successor information systems.--
        Nothing in this section shall be construed as preventing or 
        otherwise limiting the ability of the Administrator 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 information system shall include a 
        reference to BuyAmerican.gov.

SEC. 8. CONSISTENCY WITH INTERNATIONAL AGREEMENTS.

    This Act shall be applied in a manner consistent with United States 
obligations under international agreements.
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