2,491 research outputs found
Recommended from our members
Domestic Content Legislation: The Buy American Act and Complementary Little Buy American Provisions
[Excerpt] Congress has broad authority to place conditions on the purchases made by the federal government or with federal dollars. One of many conditions that it has placed on direct government purchases is a requirement that they be produced in the United States. The most familiar of these requirements is known as the Buy American Act, which is the major domestic preference statute governing procurement by the federal government. The Buy American Act applies to direct purchases by the federal government of more than $3,000, providing the purchase is consistent with the public interest, the items or services are reasonable in cost, and they are for use in the United States. The act requires that “substantially all” of the acquisition be attributable to American-made components. Regulations have interpreted this requirement to mean that at least 50% of the cost must be attributable to American content.
While the act has only been substantively amended four times since its enactment in 1933, every Congress in the intervening years has seen fit to enact some form of additional domestic preference legislation. This legislation has been generally directed at purchases that for some reason were not governed by the Buy American Act and often took the form of temporary law that was enacted Congress after Congress, often as an appropriations rider to deny the use of funds to purchase goods that were not of domestic origin. While this approach has not been abandoned, the current trend appears to be to codify these “Little Buy American Acts” as permanent law.
This report summarizes (1) the Buy American Act, what it does and does not cover; (2) the Little Buy American Acts found in permanent law, emphasizing what they govern, major exceptions, and why Congress felt them necessary in light of the requirements of the Buy American Act; and (3) the temporary Little Buy American provision found in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act
Recommended from our members
Prevailing Wage Requirements and the Emergency Suspension of the Davis-Bacon Act
President Bush has, by proclamation, suspended the application of the Davis-Bacon Act to all contracts to be performed in the jurisdictions in Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, and Mississippi included in the Hurricane Katrina disaster area. This has the effect of permitting the payment of less than the locally prevailing wage on contracts entered into after September 8, 2005, for the construction or repair of public buildings and public works in the affected area. H.R. 3684 would make this type of suspension automatic for one year when a disaster is declared under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act
Recommended from our members
Location-Based Preferences in Federal and Federally Funded Contracting: An Overview of the Law
[Excerpt] The recession that began in December 2007 has prompted increased interest among some Members of Congress and their constituents in legal authorities that could require or allow federal agencies to prefer contractors in one state or locality over those in other states or localities. Federal spending on procurement contracts has remained high, reaching $523.9 billion in FY2009, at a time when many other businesses have scaled back their purchases of goods and services. However, this spending has historically been localized in three to five states, which receive nearly half of all federal procurement dollars, prompting concerns about whether other states receive their “fair share.” Such concerns may be overstated, given that many contracts must be performed in or near Washington, DC, and shifting the place of performance of existing contracts from one state to another would generally not decrease overall unemployment. Nonetheless, geographic distribution of federal spending and federal funding is often a concern during economic downturns.
This report discusses constitutional and other legal issues related to the creation and implementation of location-based preferences in federal contracting, as well as summarizes key authorities requiring or allowing federal agencies to “favor” contractors located in specific places. The report does not address federal preferences for domestic products or provisions of federal law that could, depending upon their implementation, effectively prefer local contractors, such as project labor agreements
Recommended from our members
The Buy American Act: Requiring Government Procurements to Come from Domestic Sources
The Buy American Act is the major domestic preference statute governing procurement by the federal government. Essentially it attempts to protect domestic labor by providing a preference for American goods in government purchases. In the 110th Congress a new reporting requirement was added to the Buy American Act. The Buy American Improvement Act of 2007 would make statutory the definition of "American made," increase the domestic content requirement from 50% to 75%, and place limits upon the "inconsistent with the public interest" and "use outside of the United States" exceptions to the act
Recommended from our members
Special Acquisition Authorities Command in the House and Senate Proposals to Create a Department of Homeland Security
Recommended from our members
The United States Flag: Federal Law Relating to Display and Associated Questions
This report presents, verbatim, the United States "Flag Code" as found in Title 4 of the United States Code and the section of Title 36 which designates the Star-Spangled Banner as the national anthem and provides instructions on how to display the flag during its rendition. The report also addresses several of the frequently asked questions concerning the flag
Recommended from our members
Flag Protection: A Brief History and Summary of Recent Supreme Court Decisions and Proposed Constitutional Amendment
This report is divided into two parts. The first gives a brief history of the flag
protection issue, from the enactment of the Flag Protection Act in 1968 through
current consideration of a constitutional amendment. The second part briefly
summarizes the two decisions of the United States Supreme Court, Texas v. Johnson and United States v. Eichman, that struck down the state and federal flag protection statutes as applied in the context punishing expressive conduct
Recommended from our members
State Sales Taxation of Internet Transactions
This report examines state taxation of Internet transactions as well as efforts to achieve uniform state sales and use tax treatment
Recommended from our members
Flag Protection: A Brief History and Summary of Recent Supreme Court Decisions and Proposed Constitutional Amendment
This report is divided into two parts. The first gives a brief history of the flag
protection issue, from the enactment of the Flag Protection Act in 1968 through
current consideration of a constitutional amendment. The second part briefly
summarizes the two decisions of the United States Supreme Court, Texas v. Johnson and United States v. Eichman, that struck down the state and federal flag protection statutes as applied in the context punishing expressive conduct
Recommended from our members
The United States Flag: Federal Law Relating to Display and Associated Questions
- …