§ 8303. Contracts for public works

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(a)In General.— Every contract for the construction, alteration, or repair of any public building or public work in the United States shall contain a provision that in the performance of the work the contractor, subcontractors, material men, or suppliers shall use only—

(1)unmanufactured articles, materials, and supplies that have been mined or produced in the United States; and

(2)manufactured articles, materials, and supplies that have been manufactured in the United States substantially all from articles, materials, or supplies mined, produced, or manufactured in the United States.

(b)Exceptions.—

(1)In general.— This section does not apply—

(A)to articles, materials, or supplies for use outside the United States;

(B)to any articles, materials, or supplies procured 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; and

(C)to manufactured articles, materials, or supplies procured under any contract with an award value that is not more than the micro-purchase threshold under section 1902 of this title.

(2)Particular article, material, or supply.— If the head of the Federal agency making the contract finds that it is impracticable to comply with subsection

(a)for a particular article, material, or supply or that it would unreasonably increase the cost, an exception shall be noted in the specifications for that article, material, or supply and a public record of the findings that justified the exception shall be made.

(3)Waiver authority.— Subsection

(a)shall be regarded as requiring the purchase, for public use within the United States, of articles, materials, or supplies manufactured in the United States in sufficient and reasonably available commercial quantities and of a satisfactory quality, unless the head of the Federal agency concerned determines their acquisition to be inconsistent with the public interest, their cost to be unreasonable, or that the articles, materials, or supplies of the class or kind to be used, or the articles, materials, or supplies from which they are manufactured, are not mined, produced, or manufactured in the United States in sufficient and reasonably available commercial quantities and of a satisfactory quality.

(c)Special Rules.—

(1)Production of iron and steel.— For purposes of this section, manufactured articles, materials, and supplies of iron and steel are deemed manufactured in the United States only if all manufacturing processes involved in the production of such iron and steel, from the initial melting stage through the application of coatings, occurs in the United States.

(2)Limitation on exception for commercially available off-the-shelf items.— Notwithstanding any law or regulation to the contrary, including section 1907 of this title and the Federal Acquisition Regulation, the requirements of this section apply to all iron and steel articles, materials, and supplies used in contracts described in subsection (a).

(d)Results of Failure To Comply.— If the head of a Federal agency that has made a contract containing the provision required by subsection

(a)finds that there has been a failure to comply with the provision in the performance of the contract, the head of the Federal agency shall make the findings public. The findings shall include the name of the contractor obligated under the contract. The contractor, and any subcontractor, material man, or supplier associated or affiliated with the contractor, shall not be awarded another contract for the construction, alteration, or repair of any public building or public work for 3 years after the findings are made public.

(Pub. L. 111–350, § 3, Jan. 4, 2011, 124 Stat. 3832; Pub. L. 117–58, div. G, title IX, § 70922(b), (e)(2), Nov. 15, 2021, 135 Stat. 1303, 1305.)

In subsection (a), before paragraph (1), the words “growing out of an appropriation heretofore made or hereafter to be made” are omitted as unnecessary.

Subsection (b)(1) is substituted for “except as provided in section 10a of this title” for clarity.

In subsection (b)(3), the words “In order to clarify the original intent of Congress, hereafter, section 10a of this title” are omitted as unnecessary.

In subsection (c), the words “in the United States or elsewhere” are omitted as unnecessary.

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