# Build America, Buy America Act

This bill requires the federal government to prioritize buying American-made products and materials when spending taxpayer money on infrastructure projects. Essentially, it's a "buy American" rule that applies to federal construction and infrastructure spending, making it a requirement rather than just a preference.

Here's what this means in practice: When the government funds projects like building roads, bridges, water systems, or other infrastructure, contractors must use American-made steel, iron, and other materials whenever possible. If a company wants to win a federal contract for an infrastructure project, they need to demonstrate that they're using materials produced in the United States. The bill sets specific thresholds—for example, a certain percentage of the steel or iron used in a project must be American-made. There are some exceptions for cases where American materials aren't available, would be significantly more expensive, or wouldn't serve the public interest, but these exceptions are meant to be narrow.

The practical effect is that this policy aims to support American manufacturers and workers by guaranteeing them a market for their products through federal spending. It could mean more jobs in American steel mills, manufacturing plants, and related industries. However, it might also increase the cost of some infrastructure projects since American-made materials can sometimes cost more than imported alternatives. Construction companies and contractors will need to adjust their supply chains and sourcing practices to comply with these requirements when bidding on federal work.

Build America, Buy America Act

Brown, Sherrod

Build America, Buy America Act This bill requires federal infrastructure programs to provide for the use of materials produced in the United States. Each federal agency must submit to the Office of Management and Budget and to Congress a report that identifies each federal financial assistance program for infrastructure administered by the agency and (1) identify domestic content procurement preferences applicable to the assistance, (2) assess the applicability of such requirements, (3) provide details on any applicable domestic content procurement preference requirement, and (4) include a description of the type of infrastructure projects that receive funding under the program. Each agency shall ensure that none of the funds made available for such a program may be used for a project unless all of the iron, steel, and manufactured products used in the project are produced in the United States, subject to waivers where inconsistent with the public interest, where not produced in sufficient quantities or satisfactory quality, or where such inclusion will increase the cost of the project by more than 25%.