Four leading construction industry groups, unhappy with the White House Office of Management and Budget's implementation of federal Buy America requirements, are calling for a major shift in the administering of the rules. The coalition would prefer that OMB focus on general domestic-preference policy, with infrastructure funding agencies such as the U.S. Dept. of Transportation taking the lead on program specifics.
Buy America's reach expanded greatly under the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA). The $1.2-trillion infrastructure law includes the Build America, Buy America Act (BABAA), which outlines the federal domestic preference requirements.