,i #aacth ,,congress #ast ,session ,h4 ,r4 #ccdf ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,october #bh1 #bjac,mr4 ,lipinski 7for himself1 ,mr4 ,aderholt1 and ,ms4 ,shea-,porter7 introduced the following bill2 which was referred to the ,committee on ,oversight and ,government ,reform ,a ,,bill ,to amend chapter #hc of title #da1 ,united ,states ,code1 to increase the requirement for ,american-made content1 to strengthen the waiver provisions1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,buy ,american ,improvement ,act of #bjac4 #b4 ,strengthening and simplifying ,federal procurement policies 7a7 ,in general ,not later than one year after the date of the enactment of this ,act1 the ,administrator for ,federal ,procurement ,policy1 in consultation with the ,federal ,acquisition ,regulatory ,council1 shall promulgate regulations to standardize and simplify how ,federal agencies comply with1 report on1 and enforce chapter #hc of title #da1 ,united ,states ,code 7commonly known as the ,buy ,american ,act74 ,the regulations shall include1 at a minimum1 the following3 7#a7 ,guidelines for determining1 for the purposes of applying sections #hcjb7;a7 and #hcjc7;b77#c7 of such title1 the circumstances under which the acquisition of articles1 materials1 or supplies mined1 produced1 or manufactured in the ,united ,states is inconsistent with the public interest4 7#b7 ,uniform procedures for collecting1 reporting1 and making publicly available information about waivers under chapter #hc of such title1 including-- 7,a7 procedures for making a request for a waiver publicly available before granting the waiver2 and 7,b7 procedures for providing the rationale for why a waiver is granted4 7#c7 ,rules to ensure that projects are not disaggregated for purposes of avoiding the applicability of the requirements under chapter #hc of such title to such larger project4 7#d7 ,procedures for investigating waiver requests4 7#e7 ,rules for evaluating the percentage of domestic content in a manufactured end product4 7b7 ,guidelines relating to inconsistency with public interest ,in the guidelines developed under subsection 7a77#a71 the ,administrator shall consider any significant decrease in employment in the ,united ,states resulting from the granting of waivers to be inconsistent with the public interest and seek to minimize-- 7#a7 the granting of waivers that would result in a decrease in employment in the ,united ,states in both the short- and long-term2 and 7#b7 the granting of waivers for procurement of articles1 materials1 or supplies mined1 produced1 or manufactured in a foreign country with which the ,united ,states does not have a relevant trade agreement and which has a government that maintains1 in regard to government procurement1 a significant and persistent pattern or practice of discrimination against products produced in the ,united ,states4 7c7 ,procedures relating to the publication of requests for waivers ,in the procedures developed under subsection 7a77#b77;,a71 the ,administrator shall require the head of a ,federal agency1 after receiving a request for a waiver1 to complete each of the following3 7#a7 ,publish the request for a waiver on a publicly available website of the agency in an easily identifiable location within #ae days after receiving such request4 7#b7 ,a waiver may not be issued before the expiration of the #ae-;day period beginning on the date on which the request for waiver is published pursuant to paragraph 7#a7 to provide the public an opportunity for notice and comment4 7d7 ,procedures relating to the publication of waivers granted ,in the procedures developed under subsection 7a77#b77;,b71 the ,administrator shall require the head of a ,federal agency to publish the determination for why a waiver was granted and the rationale for such determination in the ,federal ,register and on a publicly available website of the agency in an easily identifiable location not later than #cj days after the head of the agency determines to issue such waiver4 7e7 ,rules relating to domestic content ,in the rules developed under subsection 7a77#e71 the ,administrator shall not consider as domestic content components of foreign origin of the same class or kind as those that are not mined1 produced1 or manufactured in the ,united ,states in sufficient and reasonably available commercial quantities of a satisfactory quality4 7f7 ,definitions ,in this section3 7#a7 ,federal agency ,the term ,federal agency means any executive agency 7as defined in section #acc of title #da1 ,united ,states ,code7 or any establishment in the legislative or judicial branch of the ,federal ,government4 7#b7 ,relevant trade agreement ,the term relevant trade agreement means-- 7,a7 a reciprocal defense procurement memorandum of understanding1 as described in section #hcjd of title #da1 ,united ,states ,code2 7,b7 any trade agreement for which the ,president1 or his delegate1 has issued a blanket waiver under section #cja of the ,trade ,agreements ,act of #aigi 7#ai ,u4,s4,c4 #beaa72 and 7,c7 any trade agreement described in subpart #be4d of the ,federal ,acquisition ,regulation4 7#c7 ,waiver ,the term waiver means1 with respect to the acquisition of an article1 material1 or supply for public use1 the inapplicability of chapter #hc of title #da1 ,united ,states ,code1 to the acquisition by reason of any of the following determinations3 7,a7 ,a determination by the head of the ,federal agency concerned that the acquisition is inconsistent with the public interest4 7,b7 ,a determination by the head of the ,federal agency concerned that the cost of the acquisition is unreasonable4 7,c7 ,a determination by the head of the ,federal agency concerned that the article1 material1 or supply is not mined1 produced1 or manufactured in the ,united ,states in sufficient and reasonably available commercial quantities of a satisfactory quality4 #c4 ,increasing transparency and accountability in ,federal procurement ,subsection 7b7 of section #hcjb of title #da1 ,united ,states ,code1 is amended to read as follows3 7b7 ,reports 7#a7 ,in general 7,a7 ,agency report ,not later than #abj days after the end of each of fiscal years #bjac through #bjah1 the head of each ,federal agency shall submit to the ,administrator for ,federal ,procurement ,policy a report on the amount of the acquisitions made by the agency in that fiscal year of articles1 materials1 or supplies purchased from entities that manufacture the articles1 materials1 or supplies outside of the ,united ,states4 ,a separate report is not required by a ,federal agency under this subparagraph if such agency has already submitted the information required in such report for a fiscal year through the ,federal ,procurement ,data ,system 7as referred to in section #aabb7;a77#d77;,a77 or another uniform comprehensive system prescribed by the ,federal ,acquisition ,regulation4 7,b7 ,consolidated report ,not later than #ahj days after the end of each of fiscal years #bjaa through #bjaf1 the ,administrator for ,federal ,procurement ,policy1 in consultation with the ,administrator of ,general ,services1 shall submit to the ,committee on ,homeland ,security and ,governmental ,affairs of the ,senate and the ,committee on ,oversight and ,government ,reform of the ,house of ,representatives a consolidated report that includes each report and any information submitted pursuant to subparagraph 7,a7 and the total amount of acquisitions made by ,federal agencies in the relevant fiscal year of articles1 materials1 or supplies purchased from entities that manufacture or produce the articles1 materials1 or supplies outside of the ,united ,states4 7#b7 ,contents of report ,the report required by paragraph 7#a77;,a7 shall separately include1 for the fiscal year covered by the report-- 7,a7 the dollar value of any articles1 materials1 or supplies that were manufactured or produced outside the ,united ,states1 in the aggregate and by country2 7,b7 an itemized list of all waivers granted with respect to such articles1 materials1 or supplies under this chapter1 and the country where such articles1 materials1 or supplies were manufactured or produced2 7,c7 if any articles1 materials1 or supplies were acquired from entities that manufacture or produce articles1 materials1 or supplies outside the ,united ,states due to an exception 7that is not the micro-purchase threshold exception described under subsection 7a77#b77;,c771 the specific exception that was used to purchase such articles1 materials1 or supplies2 7,d7 if any articles1 materials1 or supplies were acquired from entities that manufacture or produce articles1 materials1 or supplies outside the ,united ,states pursuant to a relevant trade agreement1 a citation to such agreement2 and 7,e7 a summary of-- 7i7 the total procurement funds expended on articles1 materials1 and supplies manufactured or produced inside the ,united ,states2 7ii7 the total procurement funds expended on articles1 materials1 and supplies manufactured or produced outside the ,united ,states2 and 7iii7 the total procurement funds expended on articles1 materials1 and supplies manufactured or produced outside the ,united ,states for each country that manufactured or produced such articles1 materials1 and supplies4 7#c7 ,public availability ,not later than #ahj days after the end of the relevant fiscal year1 the ,administrator for ,federal ,procurement ,policy shall make the consolidated report described under paragraph 7#a77;,b7 publicly available on a website4 7#d7 ,exception for intelligence community ,this subsection shall not apply to acquisitions made by an agency1 or component of an agency1 that is an element of the intelligence community as specified in1 or designated under1 section #c of the ,national ,security ,act of #aidg 7#ej ,u4,s4,c4 #dja;a74 4 #d4 ,strengthening the ,buy ,american ,act 7a7 ,requirements for waivers ,section #hcjb of title #da1 ,united ,states ,code1 is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection3 7c7 ,special rules ,the following rules apply in carrying out the provisions of subsection 7a73 7#a7 ,calculation of domestic and non-domestic bids 7,a7 ,exclusion of start-up costs in calculating cost of bid ,when comparing bids between domestic entities and non-domestic entities1 costs related to the start-up of a project shall be excluded from a domestic bid4 7,b7 ,unreasonable cost determination 7i7 ,in general ,the head of a ,federal agency shall not determine the cost of acquiring articles1 materials1 or supplies produced or manufactured in the ,united ,states to be unreasonable under subsection 7a7 unless the acquisition of such articles1 materials1 or supplies would increase the cost of the overall project by more than #be percent4 7ii7 ,rule of construction ,nothing in this subparagraph shall be construed as reducing the percentage increase required as of the date of the enactment of the ,buy ,american ,improvement ,act of #bjac for a determination of unreasonable cost applicable to projects under ,department of ,defense contracts4 7#b7 ,use outside the united states 7,a7 ,in general ,subsection 7a7 shall apply without regard to whether the articles1 materials1 or supplies to be acquired are for use outside the ,united ,states if the articles1 materials1 or supplies are not needed on an urgent basis or if they are acquired on a regular basis4 7,b7 ,cost analysis ,in any case in which the articles1 materials1 or supplies are to be acquired for use outside the ,united ,states and are not needed on an urgent basis1 before entering into a contract an analysis shall be made of the difference in the cost of acquiring the articles1 materials1 or supplies from a company manufacturing the articles1 materials1 or supplies in the ,united ,states 7including the cost of shipping7 and the cost of acquiring the articles1 materials1 or supplies from a company manufacturing the articles1 materials1 or supplies outside the ,united ,states 7including the cost of shipping74 7#c7 ,domestic availability ,the head of a ,federal agency may not make a determination under subsection 7a7 that an article1 material1 or supply is not mined1 produced1 or manufactured1 as the case may be1 in the ,united ,states in sufficient and reasonably available commercial quantities and of satisfactory quality1 unless the head of the agency has determined that-- 7,a7 domestic production cannot be initiated without significantly delaying the project for which the article1 material1 or supply is to be procured2 and 7,b7 a substitutable article1 material1 or supply is not available in reasonable quantities and of satisfactory quality from a company in the ,united ,states4 7#d7 ,definitions ,in this subsection3 7,a7 ,exception ,the term exception means1 with respect to the acquisition of an article1 material1 or supply for public use1 the inapplicability of chapter #hc to the acquisition by reason of any of the following3 7i7 ,use outside the ,united ,states 7described in section #hcjb7;a77#b77;,a774 7ii7 ,procured under a contract with an award value that is not more than the micro-purchase threshold 7described in section #hcjb7;a77#b77;,c774 7iii7 ,specifically excepted for information technology 7as defined in section #aaaja of title #dj7 that is a commercial item 7as defined in section #ajc74 7iv7 ,a relevant trade agreement4 7,b7 ,waiver ,the term waiver means1 with respect to the acquisition of an article1 material1 or supply for public use1 the inapplicability of this chapter to the acquisition by reason of any of the following determinations3 7i7 ,a determination by the head of the ,federal agency concerned that the acquisition is inconsistent with the public interest4 7ii7 ,a determination by the head of the ,federal agency concerned that the cost of the acquisition is unreasonable4 7iii7 ,a determination by the head of the ,federal agency concerned that the article1 material1 or supply is not mined1 produced1 or manufactured in the ,united ,states in sufficient and reasonably available commercial quantities of a satisfactory quality4 4 7b7 ,definitions2 increasing domestic content requirement ,section #hcja of title #da1 ,united ,states ,code1 is amended-- 7#a7 by adding at the end the following new paragraphs3 7#c7 ,federal agency ,the term ,federal agency means any executive agency 7as defined in section #acc7 or any establishment in the legislative or judicial branch of the ,federal ,government4 7#d7 ,relevant trade agreement ,the term relevant trade agreement means-- 7,a7 a reciprocal defense procurement memorandum of understanding1 as described in section #hcjd of title #da1 ,united ,states ,code2 7,b7 any trade agreement for which the ,president1 or his delegate1 has issued a blanket waiver under section #cja of the ,trade ,agreements ,act of #aigi 7#ai ,u4,s4,c4 #beaa72 and 7,c7 any trade agreement described in subpart #be4d of the ,federal ,acquisition ,regulation4 7#e7 ,substantially all ,articles1 materials1 or supplies shall be treated as made substantially all from articles1 materials1 or supplies mined1 produced1 or manufactured in the ,united ,states1 if the cost of the domestic components of such articles1 materials1 or supplies exceeds #ge percent of the total cost of all components of such articles1 materials1 or supplies4 2 and 7#b7 by reordering paragraphs 7#a7 and 7#b7 and the paragraphs added by paragraph 7#a7 of this subsection in alphabetical order based on the headings of such paragraphs and renumbering such paragraphs as so reordered4 7c7 ,conforming amendments ,title #da1 ,united ,states ,code1 is amended-- 7#a7 in section #hcjb7;a77#a71 by striking department or independent establishment and inserting ,federal agency2 and 7#b7 in section #hcjc-- 7,a7 in subsection 7b7-- 7i7 in paragraph 7#b71 by striking department or independent establishment and inserting ,federal agency2 and 7ii7 in paragraph 7#c71 by striking department or independent establishment and inserting ,federal agency2 and 7,b7 in subsection 7c71 by striking department1 bureau1 agency1 or independent establishment and inserting ,federal agency1 each place it appears4 7d7 ,inflation adjustment exclusion ,section #aijh7;b77#b77;,a7 of title #da1 ,united ,states ,code1 is amended by striking chapter #fg and inserting chapters #fg and #hc4 #e4 ,,gao report and recommendation ,not later than one year after the date of the enactment of this ,act1 the ,comptroller ,general shall report to ,congress on the extent to which1 in each of fiscal years #bjji1 #bjaj1 #bjaa1 #bjab1 and #bjac1 articles1 materials1 or supplies acquired by the ,federal ,government were manufactured1 mined1 or produced outside of the ,united ,states4 ,such report shall include for each ,federal agency the following3 7#a7 ,a summary of total procurement funds expended on articles1 materials1 and supplies manufactured-- 7,a7 inside the ,united ,states2 7,b7 outside the ,united ,states2 and 7,c7 outside the ,united ,states-- 7i7 under each type of waiver 7as defined in section #b7;f7 of this ,act72 7ii7 under each category of exception 7as defined in section #hcja of title #da1 ,united ,states ,code1 as added by section #d7;b77#a7 of this ,act72 and 7iii7 for each country that manufactured or produced such articles1 materials1 and supplies4 7#b7 ,an analysis of the impact of eliminating the exception for acquisitions for information technology 7as defined in section #aaaja of title #dj1 ,united ,states ,code7 that is a commercial item 7as defined in section #ajc of title #da1 ,united ,states ,code74 #f4 ,united ,states ,obligations under international agreements ,this ,act1 and the amendments made by this ,act1 shall be applied in a manner consistent with ,united ,states obligations under international agreements4