Washington, D.C. – The Made in America Office at the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) unveiled a new Buy America waiver transparency process on Wednesday. Under this new guidance, the 24 largest federal agencies must enter proposed non-availability waivers into a digital portal on the Made in America Office website, allowing the public to review them — and give American companies and workers an opportunity to challenge waivers and compete for more federally funded contracts.
Smaller government agencies will be required to follow this new process by Jan. 1, 2022.
Alliance for American Manufacturing President Scott Paul said:
“The new guidance on Buy America waivers issued today by the Made in America Office is a welcome one.
“For far too long, and in far too many cases, Buy America waivers have been handed out with little transparency, accountability, or oversight, leaving American manufacturers and workers in the dark about these opportunities while U.S. tax dollars rewarded offshoring and circumvention of the U.S. labor force.
“We applaud the Biden administration for prioritizing the reinvestment of federal taxpayer dollars back into American workers and companies. With the creation of a central Buy America waiver review process, U.S. companies and American workers will have a stronger voice and be better positioned to fulfill government procurement contracts and supply the inputs for federally assisted infrastructure spending.
“The recent enactment of the infrastructure bill gives the Biden administration powerful new tools to ensure that American workers have the first chance to supply the iron, steel, manufactured products, and construction materials to rebuild our nation. We look forward to working with the Made in America Office and the Biden administration on its implementation.”
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