S 908 — Make it in America Act

Summary

Make It in America Act This bill directs the Office for Federal Procurement Policy (OFPP) to promulgate specified regulations to standardize and simplify how federal agencies comply with, report on, and enforce the Buy American Act, including rules to ensure that a project is not disaggregated for purposes of avoiding the applicability of such requirements. The bill: (1) directs the OFPP to issue rules to evaluate domestic content in a "manufactured end product," (2) requires domestic component costs to exceed 75% before manufactured materials are considered manufactured "substantially all" from U.S. materials, (3) excludes contract start-up costs from a domestic offer in comparisons of offers between domestic and nondomestic entities, (4) prohibits agencies from determining that the acquisition costs of U.S. materials is unreasonable unless it would increase overall acquisition cost by more than 25%, and (5) applies Buy American requirements to materials for use outside the United States that are not needed on an urgent basis or that are acquired on a regular basis. An agency may not determine that sufficient material is not mined, produced, or manufactured in the United States unless: (1) domestic production cannot be initiated without significantly delaying the project; and (2) sufficient substitutable material is not mined, produced, or manufactured in the United States. The bill: (1) revises reporting requirements regarding total federal agency acquisitions of materials acquired from entities that mine, produce, or manufacture them outside the United States; and (2) requires the U.S. International Trade Commission to submit an industry analysis of the capabilities of the domestic information technology and semiconductor industry to supply the federal government with domestically manufactured information technology systems.

Bill Text

• Introduced Introduced in Senate Current html April 07, 2017

Compared against current U.S. Code AI-generated reading aid — verify against the official bill.

The bill introduces new regulations and requirements to strengthen the Buy American Act, specifically enhancing domestic content requirements and modifying reporting obligations without affecting existing law regarding the intelligence community.

• 41 U.S.C. § 8302

  (c) Special Rules.--The following rules apply in carrying out the provisions of subsection (a): (1) Calculation of domestic and non-domestic offers.-- (A) Exclusion of start-up costs in calculating cost of offer.--When comparing offers between domestic entities and non-domestic entities, costs related to the start-up of a contract shall be excluded from the domestic offer. (B) Unreasonable cost determination.-- (i) In general.--The head of a Federal agency may not determine the cost of acquiring articles, materials, or supplies mined, produced, or manufactured in the United States to be unreasonable under subsection (a)(1) unless the acquisition of such articles, materials, or supplies would increase the cost of the overall acquisition by more than 25 percent. (ii) Rule of construction with respect to defense contracts.--With respect to the percentage increase required for a determination of unreasonable cost applicable to projects under Department of Defense contracts as of the date of the enactment of the Make it in America Act, nothing in this subparagraph may be construed as reducing such percentage increase. (2) Use outside the united states.--(A) In general.--Notwithstanding the exception described in subsection (a)(2)(A), subsection (a)(1) shall apply to articles, materials, or supplies for use outside the United States if such articles, materials, or supplies are not needed on an urgent basis or are acquired on a regular basis. (3) Domestic availability.--The head of a Federal agency may not determine that an article, material, or supply is not mined, produced, or manufactured in the United States in sufficient and reasonably available commercial quantities and of a satisfactory quality under subsection (a)(1) unless the head of the agency first determines that--(A) domestic production cannot be initiated without significantly delaying the project for which the article, material, or supply is to be acquired; and (B) a substitutable article, material, or supply is not mined, produced, or manufactured in the United States in sufficient and reasonably available commercial quantities and of a satisfactory quality.

  This addition introduces new criteria and rules that federal agencies must follow regarding the procurement of articles, materials, or supplies, promoting domestic production.

• 41 U.S.C. § 8302

  (b) Reports.— → (b) Reports.-- (1) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the end of each of fiscal years 2018 through 2022, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, in consultation with the Administrator of General Services, shall submit to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate a report on the total amount of acquisitions made by Federal agencies in the relevant fiscal year of articles, materials, or supplies acquired from entities that mine, produce, or manufacture the articles, materials, or supplies outside the United States. (2) Additional content.--Each report required under paragraph (1) shall separately include, for the fiscal year covered by the report--(A) the dollar value of any articles, materials, or supplies that were mined, produced, or manufactured outside the United States, in the aggregate and by country; (B) an itemized list of all waivers made under this chapter with respect to articles, materials, or supplies and the country where such articles, materials, or supplies were mined, produced, or manufactured; (C) if any articles, materials, or supplies were acquired from entities that mine, produce, or manufacture such articles, materials, or supplies outside the United States due to an exception (that is not the micro-purchase threshold exception described under subsection (a)(2)(C)), the specific exception that was used to purchase such articles, materials, or supplies; (D) if any articles, materials, or supplies were acquired from entities that mine, produce, or manufacture such articles, materials, or supplies outside the United States pursuant to a reciprocal defense procurement memorandum of understanding (as described in section 8304), or a trade agreement or least developed country designation described in subpart 25.400 of the Federal Acquisition Regulation, a citation to such memorandum of understanding, trade agreement, or designation; and (E) a summary of-- (i) the total procurement funds expended on articles, materials, and supplies mined, produced, or manufactured inside the United States; (ii) the total procurement funds expended on articles, materials, and supplies mined, produced, or manufactured outside the United States; and (iii) the total procurement funds expended on articles, materials, and supplies mined, produced, or manufactured outside the United States per country that mined, produced, or manufactured such articles, materials, and supplies. (3) Public availability.--Not later than 180 days after the end of each relevant fiscal year, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget shall make the relevant report required under paragraph (1) publicly available on a website.

  This change modifies the reporting subsection to establish new timelines and specific content requirements for reporting on acquisitions made by federal agencies.

Action History

1. April 07, 2017

   Introduced in Senate

2. April 07, 2017

   Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.

Sponsors

• Debbie Stabenow · Primary

Subjects