Sec. 8. Waiver Transparency and Streamlining for grants
567 words·~3 min read·
/bill/116/s/1324/is/section-8A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.
The President, in consultation with the heads of relevant agencies, shall develop a mechanism to collect information on requests to waive Buy American laws and other domestic content restrictions, utilizing existing reporting requirements whenever possible, for purposes of providing early notice to possible waivers via the website established under subsection (a). The heads of executive agencies shall report to the Administrator as quickly as possible waivers requested or under consideration and waivers granted due to the non-availability of procured items or service providers for purposes of posting such information on the website established under such subsection.
Not less than 20 days prior to waiving, under his or her statutory authority, any applicable Buy American law, the head of an executive agency shall submit to the Administrator of General Services a notice of the agency’s intention to waive the Buy American law. Not later than 5 days after receiving this information from the head of an executive agency, the Administrator of General Services shall make available to the public, by posting on the website established under section 7, a copy of the information provided pursuant to subsection (a), and shall allow for informal public comment on the request for at least 15 days prior to making a finding based on the request.
No requested waiver of an applicable Buy American Law may be granted if, in contravention of subsection (b)— information about the waiver was not made available on the website under section 7; or no opportunity for public comment concerning the request was granted. Information made available to the public concerning the request included on the website described in section 7 shall properly and adequately document and justify the statutory basis cited for the requested waiver. Such information shall include— a detailed justification for the use of goods, products, or materials mined, produced, or manufactured outside the United States; for requests citing unreasonable cost as the statutory basis of the waiver, a comparison of the cost of the domestic product to the cost of the foreign product or a comparison of the overall cost of the project with domestic products to the overall cost of the project with foreign-origin products or services, pursuant to the requirements of the applicable Buy American law, except that publicly available cost comparison data may be provided in lieu of proprietary pricing information; for requests citing the public interest as the statutory basis for the waiver, a detailed written statement, which shall include all appropriate factors, such as potential obligations under international agreements, justifying why the requested waiver is in the public interest; and a certification that the procurement official or assistance recipient made a good faith effort to solicit bids for domestic products supported by terms included in requests for proposals, contracts, and nonproprietary communications with the prime contractor.
Except as provided under paragraph (2), for a request citing nonavailability as the statutory basis for a waiver, an executive agency shall provide an explanation of the procurement official’s efforts to procure a product from a domestic source and the reasons why a domestic product was not suitable. Those explanations shall be made available on BuyAmerican.gov prior to the issuance of the waiver, and the agency shall consider public comments regarding the availability of the product before making a final determination.
An explanation under paragraph
(1)is not required for a product the nonavailability of which is established by law or regulation.