[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 581 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







110th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 581

To amend the Buy American Act to increase the requirement for American-
made content, to tighten the waiver provisions, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           February 14, 2007

 Mr. Feingold introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend the Buy American Act to increase the requirement for American-
made content, to tighten the waiver provisions, 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 ``Buy American Improvement Act of 
2007''.

SEC. 2. REQUIREMENTS FOR WAIVERS.

    (a) In General.--Section 2 of the Buy American Act (41 U.S.C. 10a) 
is amended--
            (1) by striking ``Notwithstanding'' and inserting the 
        following:
    ``(a) In General.--Notwithstanding''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(b) Special Rules.--The following rules shall apply in carrying 
out the provisions of subsection (a):
            ``(1) Public interest waiver.--A determination that it is 
        not in the public interest to enter into a contract in 
        accordance with this Act may not be made after a notice of 
        solicitation of offers for the contract is published in 
        accordance with section 18 of the Office of Federal Procurement 
        Policy Act (41 U.S.C. 416) and section 8(e) of the Small 
        Business Act (15 U.S.C. 637(e)).
            ``(2) Domestic bidder.--A Federal agency entering into a 
        contract shall give preference to a company submitting an offer 
        on the contract that manufactures in the United States the 
        article, material, or supply for which the offer is solicited, 
        if--
                    ``(A) that company's offer is substantially the 
                same as an offer made by a company that does not 
                manufacture the article, material, or supply in the 
                United States; or
                    ``(B) that company is the only company that 
                manufactures in the United States the article, 
                material, or supply for which the offer is solicited.
            ``(3) Use outside the united states.--
                    ``(A) In general.--Subsection (a) shall apply 
                without regard to whether the articles, materials, or 
                supplies to be acquired are for use outside the United 
                States if the articles, materials, or supplies are not 
                needed on an urgent basis or if they are acquired on a 
                regular basis.
                    ``(B) Cost analysis.--In any case in which the 
                articles, materials, or supplies are to be acquired for 
                use outside the United States and are not needed on an 
                urgent basis, before entering into a contract an 
                analysis shall be made of the difference in the cost of 
                acquiring the articles, materials, or supplies from a 
                company manufacturing the articles, materials, or 
                supplies in the United States (including the cost of 
                shipping) and the cost of acquiring the articles, 
                materials, or supplies from a company manufacturing the 
                articles, materials, or supplies outside the United 
                States (including the cost of shipping).
            ``(4) Domestic availability.--The head of a Federal agency 
        may not make a determination under subsection (a) that an 
        article, material, or supply is not mined, produced, or 
        manufactured, as the case may be, in the United States in 
        sufficient and reasonably available commercial quantities and 
        of satisfactory quality, unless the head of the agency has 
        conducted a study and, on the basis of such study, determined 
        that--
                    ``(A) domestic production cannot be initiated to 
                meet the procurement needs; and
                    ``(B) a comparable article, material, or supply is 
                not available from a company in the United States.
    ``(c) Reports.--
            ``(1) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the end of 
        each of fiscal years 2007 through 2011, the head of each 
        Federal agency 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 report on the amount of the acquisitions made 
        by the agency in that fiscal year of articles, materials, or 
        supplies purchased from entities that manufacture the articles, 
        materials, or supplies outside of the United States.
            ``(2) Contents of report.--The report required by paragraph 
        (1) shall separately include, for the fiscal year covered by 
        such report--
                    ``(A) the dollar value of any articles, materials, 
                or supplies that were manufactured outside the United 
                States;
                    ``(B) an itemized list of all waivers granted with 
                respect to such articles, materials, or supplies under 
                this Act, and a citation to the treaty, international 
                agreement, or other law under which each waiver was 
                granted;
                    ``(C) if any articles, materials, or supplies were 
                acquired from entities that manufacture articles, 
                materials, or supplies outside the United States, the 
                specific exception under this section that was used to 
                purchase such articles, materials, or supplies; and
                    ``(D) a summary of--
                            ``(i) the total procurement funds expended 
                        on articles, materials, and supplies 
                        manufactured inside the United States; and
                            ``(ii) the total procurement funds expended 
                        on articles, materials, and supplies 
                        manufactured outside the United States.
            ``(3) Public availability.--The head of each Federal agency 
        submitting a report under paragraph (1) shall make the report 
        publicly available to the maximum extent practicable.
            ``(4) Exception for intelligence community.--This 
        subsection shall not apply to acquisitions made by an agency, 
        or component thereof, that is an element of the intelligence 
        community as specified in, or designated under, section 3(4) of 
        the National Security Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 401a(4)).''.
    (b) Definitions.--Section 1 of the Buy American Act (41 U.S.C. 10c) 
is amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(c) Federal Agency.--The term `Federal agency' means any 
executive agency (as defined in section 4(1) of the Office of Federal 
Procurement Policy Act (41 U.S.C. 403(1))) or any establishment in the 
legislative or judicial branch of the Federal Government.
    ``(d) Substantially All.--Articles, materials, or supplies shall be 
treated as made substantially all from articles, materials, or supplies 
mined, produced, or manufactured in the United States, if the cost of 
the domestic components of such articles, materials, or supplies 
exceeds 75 percent of the total cost of all components of such 
articles, materials, or supplies.''.
    (c) Conforming Amendments.--
            (1) Section 2 of the Buy American Act (41 U.S.C. 10a) is 
        amended by striking ``department or independent establishment'' 
        and inserting ``Federal agency''.
            (2) Section 3 of such Act (41 U.S.C. 10b) is amended--
                    (A) in subsection (a), by striking ``department or 
                independent establishment'' and inserting ``Federal 
                agency''; and
                    (B) in subsection (b), by striking ``department, 
                bureau, agency, or independent establishment'' and 
                inserting ``Federal agency''.
            (3) Section 633 of the National Military Establishment 
        Appropriation Act, 1950 (41 U.S.C. 10d) is amended by striking 
        ``department or independent establishment'' and inserting 
        ``Federal agency''.

SEC. 3. GAO REPORT AND RECOMMENDATIONS.

    (a) Report on Scope of Waivers.--Not later than 180 days after the 
date of the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the 
United States shall report to Congress recommendations to be used in 
determining, for purposes of applying the waiver provision of section 
2(a) of the Buy American Act, as redesignated by section 2(a) of this 
Act, whether acquiring articles, materials, and supplies mined, 
produced, or manufactured in the United States would--
            (1) involve unreasonable cost; or
            (2) be inconsistent with the public interest.
    (b) Recommendations.--The report described in subsection (a) shall 
include recommendations--
            (1) for a statutory definition of unreasonable cost and for 
        standards for determining inconsistency with the public 
        interest; and
            (2) for establishing procedures for applying the waiver 
        provisions of the Buy American Act that can be consistently 
        applied.
                                 <all>