§8302 American materials required for public use

Summary

Federal agencies must buy raw materials that were mined or produced in the United States and finished goods that were mostly made from U.S. parts for government use. An agency head can allow something else only if buying American is against the public interest, costs too much, or U.S. sources do not supply enough or good-enough items. The rule does not apply to things used outside the United States, items bought under certain defense or trade agreements, or manufactured items bought under contracts at or below the micro-purchase threshold under section 1902 of this title. Within 180 days after the end of the fiscal year when the Build America, Buy America Act is enacted, and each year for 4 years after that, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, with the Administrator of General Services, must send a report to the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs and the House Committee on Oversight and Reform showing how much the government bought from foreign producers. That reporting rule does not apply to intelligence community elements as defined in section 3 of the National Security Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 3003). Iron and steel count as U.S.-made only if every step of their production, from initial melting through coating, happens in the United States, and the iron-and-steel rules apply even if other laws or regulations, including section 1907 of this title and the Federal Acquisition Regulation, say otherwise.