Dive brief:
- U.S. Sens. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., and Jim Banks, R-Ind., introduced a bill on Monday this would require federal agencies to comply with the Build America, Buy America Act for contracted projects financed through the Employment and Infrastructure Investments Law.
- The proposed law, the Build America, Buy America Compliance Actwould direct agencies to submit annual reports to the Office of Made in America and Congress detailing their implementation of the BABA Act, according to one of the page.
- The bill would also require agencies to publish their reports in the Federal Register for transparency and accountability. From May 1the bill has been referred to the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.
Diving knowledge:
If the BABA Compliance Act becomes law, agencies would be required to identify all federal financial assistance programs dedicated to infrastructure and specify which programs have or have not fully implemented BABA requirements, according to the bill.
For programs that are fully implemented with BABA, agencies must provide the measures taken to comply with the law and how it maintains existing legislation, policies, or regulations that meet or exceed the requirements.
For programs that have BABA has not been implemented, agencies will be required to provide a timeline and steps to fully comply with the law, including efforts to replace exemptions with project-specific exemptions where possible.
Former President Joe Biden signed the Jobs and Infrastructure Investment Act, also known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Act, 2021. The legislation authorized $1.2 trillion for the repair and improvement of transportation and infrastructure, as well as for the creation of jobs in the United States.
The IIJA also updated the requirements of the Buy American Act of 1933requiring federal agencies to apply a price preference to domestically manufactured products and construction materials for projects supported by the US government.
The The BABA Act expanded the requirements under the 1933 law and imposed additional requirements on domestic iron and steel products and construction materials to stabilize the supply chain. It also required all agency heads to ensure that federal funds are not obligated for infrastructure projects, including underperforming programs, unless all iron and steel products and construction materials used are made in the US.
In addition, the law allowed agencies to authorize waivers in certain circumstances. For example, the Issued by the Federal Railroad Administration a BABA waiver to the Nevada Department of Transportation in 2024, which allowed the state agency to buy train sets from Munich-based Siemens Mobility or France-based Alstom after rail company Brightline West. received $3 billion in funding the bipartisan Infrastructure Act.
Siemens Mobility and Brightline had declared that the components needed to manufacture and assemble its train cars were not available in the US, according to the 2023 application from the Nevada Department of Transportation.
Baldwin and Banks accused many departments and agencies of partially or entirely avoiding the implementation of BABA. An Audit of the Inspector General published on April 20 found that the Federal Aviation Administration did not include required clauses related to Buy American in contracts funded through the IIJA.
The OIG also found that the FAA did not always correctly issue Buy American waivers that supported foreign-made products in IIJA-funded contracts. Three of the nine contracts OIG reviewed confirmed the FAA used foreign-made products, representing $115.9 million in IIJA funds. In addition, waivers were issued on all three contracts where the FAA did not receive a required waiver, did not follow the approval process, and used a “long-term” waiver without reevaluating the contracts.
In addition, the OIG stated that the FAA “lacked complete and accurate data” from Buy American regarding its IIJA-backed contracts.
“To me, this is simple: When we spend American tax dollars, we should reinvest those dollars back into American workers, products and businesses,” Baldwin said in a statement.
So far, the Alliance for American Manufacturing and the United Steelworkers union have endorsed the compliance bill, according to Baldwin’s news release.
“The Build America, Buy America Act was enacted in 2021 to ensure that taxpayer dollars spent on infrastructure strengthen America’s supply chains and support American workers.” AAM President Scott Paul said in a statement. “But that promise only works if the law is fully and consistently applied to federal programs.”
