JANUARY 2006

Legislation

Bill Authorizing Appropriations for the DOD Passes in the Senate

On October 7, 2005, the Senate passed the Department of Defense Appropriations Act of 2006. Items in the act relevant to procurement include, inter alia, section 8029, which provides certain "Buy American" requirements with respect to Department of Defense (DOD) procurement of carbon, armor, or alloy steel plating. Specifically, section 8029 notes that none of the funds appropriated or made available in the Act may be used for the purchase of carbon, armor, or alloy steel plating, unless the materials are melted and rolled in the United States or Canada. The secretary for the military department responsible for the purchase can meet an exception by evaluating the "Buy American" restriction on a case-by-case basis and certifying in writing to the House Committee on Appropriations that sufficient amounts of domestic supplies cannot be found to meet DOD needs, and the acquisition is necessary for national security purposes. Another section relevant to procurement is section 8075, which authorizes the secretary of defense to waive existing limitations on the governmental purchase of defense items produced in a foreign country if the secretary makes a determination that the existing limitations would invalidate existing trade agreements for the procurement of defense items and the foreign country does not discriminate against similar defense items that are produced in the United States. (H.R. 2863)