23 U.S.C. § 313: Buy America

Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Secretary of Transportation shall not obligate any funds authorized to be appropriated to carry out the Surface Transportation Assistance Act of 1982 ( 96 Stat. 2097 ) or this title and administered by the Department of Transportation, unless steel, iron, and manufactured products used in such project are produced in the United States. that their application would be inconsistent with the public interest; that such materials and products are not produced in the United States in sufficient and reasonably available quantities and of a satisfactory quality; or that inclusion of domestic material will increase the cost of the overall project contract by more than 25 percent. For purposes of this section, in calculating components’ costs, labor costs involved in final assembly shall not be included in the calculation. The Secretary of Transportation shall not impose any limitation or condition on assistance provided under the Surface Transportation Assistance Act of 1982 ( 96 Stat. 2097 ) or this title that restricts any State from imposing more stringent requirements than this section on the use of articles, materials, and supplies mined, produced, or manufactured in foreign countries in projects carried out with such assistance or restricts any recipient of such assistance from complying with such State imposed requirements. affixed a label bearing a “Made in America” inscription, or any inscription with the same meaning, to any product used in projects to which this section applies, sold in or shipped to the United States that was not made in the United States; or represented that any product used in projects to which this section applies, sold in or shipped to the United States that was not produced in the United States, was produced in the United States; a foreign country is a party to an agreement with the United States and pursuant to that agreement the head of an agency of the United States has waived the requirements of this section, and the foreign country has violated the terms of the agreement by discriminating against products covered by this section that are produced in the United States and are covered by the agreement, notice of the proposed waiver; an opportunity for comment on the proposed waiver; and the reasons for the proposed waiver. Not less frequently than annually, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Environment and Public Works of the Senate and the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives a report on the waivers provided under this section. The requirements under this section shall apply to all contracts eligible for assistance under this chapter for a project carried out within the scope of the applicable finding, determination, or decision under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 ( 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), regardless of the funding source of such contracts, if at least 1 contract for the project is funded with amounts made available to carry out this title. publish in the Federal Register, before the date on which such finding takes effect, a detailed written justification as to the reasons that such finding is needed; and provide notice of such finding and an opportunity for public comment on such finding for a period of not to exceed 60 days. Nothing in paragraph (1) shall be construed to require the effective date of a finding referred to in paragraph (1) to be delayed until after the close of the public comment period referred to in paragraph (1)(B). Not later than February 1 of each year beginning after the date of enactment of this Act [ June 6, 2008 ], the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Environment and Public Works of the Senate a report on the projects for which the Secretary made findings under section 313(b) of title 23 , United States Code, during the preceding calendar year and the justifications for such findings.”