Sec. 7. Buy America for nonemergency projects
379 words·~2 min read·
/bill/117/hr/5689/eh/section-7A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.
For the purposes of this rulemaking, to ensure that the United States has the productive capability to respond quickly to emergencies and natural disasters with a strong domestic industrial base being in the public interest, the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency shall require, as a condition of any financial assistance provided by the Agency on a nonemergency basis after promulgation of regulations pursuant to subsection
(c)for a construction project with a cost of at least $1,000,000, that the steel and iron used in the project be produced in the United States. The Administrator may provide a waiver of the requirements in subsection
(a)if the Administrator finds— that the application of such subsection would be inconsistent with the public interest, including causing unreasonable project delays; that such steel and iron are not produced in the United States in sufficient and reasonably available quantities and of a satisfactory quality; or that inclusion of domestic material will increase the cost of the overall project contract by more than 25 percent. If the Administrator receives a request for a waiver under this subsection, the Administrator shall make available to the public, on an informal basis, a copy of the request and information available to the Administrator concerning the request, and shall allow for informal public input on the request for at least 15 days prior to making a finding based on the request. The Administrator shall make the request and accompanying information available by electronic means, including on the official public website of the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Not later than 18 months after the date of enactment of this Act, the President, acting through the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, shall conduct and complete a rulemaking to establish what considerations shall be used by the Administrator to assess whether a waiver request made pursuant to subsection (b)(1)(A) is in the public interest. Such criteria shall include both a calculation considering domestically produced steel and iron and a calculation with non-domestically produced steel and iron for construction projects which require a Benefit-Cost Analysis in order to qualify for financial assistance. The amount in subsection
(a)shall be adjusted annually to reflect changes in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers published by the Department of Labor.