Referred to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.
Congressional Research Service
Official summary
Version 00 · Introduced in House · Aug 1, 2011
Buy American Improvement Act of 2011 - Requires the Administrator for Federal Procurement Policy: (1) to promulgate regulations to standardize and simplify federal agency compliance with, and reporting on, Buy American requirements; (2) in developing Buy American guidelines, to consider any significant decrease in U.S. employment resulting from the granting of waivers of Buy American requirements to be inconsistent with the public interest; and (3) to impose certain notice requirements on federal agency heads after receiving a request for a waiver and to require publication of the determination for why a waiver was granted.
Revises Buy American reporting requirements to require: (1) federal agencies to report to the Administrator, for the period FY2011-FY2016, on the amount of their acquisitions of articles, materials, or supplies purchased from entities outside the United States; and (2) the Administrator to submit to Congress a consolidated report on all agency reports received and make such report publicly available on a web site.
Imposes limits on waiver determinations, including that a project cost determination will not be deemed unreasonable unless compliance with Buy American requirements causes an increase of overall project costs by more than 25%. Defines "substantially all" for purposes of Buy American requirements to mean that articles, materials, or supplies shall be treated as made substantially all from articles, materials, or supplies mined, produced, or manufactured in the United States if the cost of the domestic components of such items exceeds 75% of the total cost of all such items.
Showing the opening paragraphs of the official summary.
Read full official summaryShow less
Requires the Comptroller General to report on the extent to which, in FY2007-FY2011, articles, materials, or supplies acquired by the federal government were manufactured, mined, or produced outside of the United States.
No related bills are listed in this snapshot. This does not establish whether the proposal has appeared in earlier Congresses.
Source last updated: Aug 14, 2025. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
AI Conversation Starters
Explore the bill from different angles
Choose a perspective, copy a prompt, and paste it into your preferred AI. Each prompt includes the bill version and available official source links, and asks for counterarguments as well as supporting evidence.
Neutral evidence review
Objective
Analyze H.R.2722 as objectively as possible. Explain its main provisions, who would be affected, possible benefits and harms, implementation, exceptions, and uncertainties. Present the strongest arguments for and against it, and identify evidence needed to assess its public impact.
View full prompt & sources
Fairness and public impact
Progressive lens
Examine H.R.2722 through a progressive lens, focusing on fairness, access, economic inequality, and effects on vulnerable communities. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and distinguish stated goals from demonstrated outcomes.
View full prompt & sources
Institutions and government scope
Conservative lens
Examine H.R.2722 through a conservative lens, focusing on fiscal responsibility, institutional stability, federalism, and the scope of government. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and any provisions that challenge this perspective.
View full prompt & sources
Individual rights and government power
Liberty lens
Examine H.R.2722 through a civil-liberties and limited-government lens. Consider individual rights, privacy, voluntary choice, accountability, and government power. Explain tradeoffs, possible safeguards, and the strongest counterarguments without assuming the proposal is beneficial or harmful.