B–BAM Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 8785 To direct the Secretary of Commerce to establish a committee to evaluate the manufacturing capacity for products and industries that are crucial to the resilience of the United States during national emergencies or severe disruptions in global trade, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES NOVEMBER 19, 2020 Ms. FINKENAUER (for herself and Mr. LAMB) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce A BILL To direct the Secretary of Commerce to establish a com- mittee to evaluate the manufacturing capacity for prod- ucts and industries that are crucial to the resilience of the United States during national emergencies or se- vere disruptions in global trade, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Building Back Amer- 4 ican Manufacturing Act’’ or ‘‘B–BAM Act’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:03 Nov 29, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8785.IH H8785 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 8785 IH SEC. 2. COMMITTEE ON BUILDING BACK AMERICAN MANU- 1 FACTURING. 2 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 90 days after 3 the date of the enactment of this section, the Secretary 4 of Commerce, in consultation with the Secretary of De- 5 fense and the Secretary of Labor, shall establish an advi- 6 sory committee to be known as the Committee on Building 7 Back American Manufacturing (in this section referred to 8 as the ‘‘Committee’’). 9 (b) MEMBERSHIP.— 10 (1) COMPOSITION.—The Committee shall be 11 composed of the following: 12 (A) The Secretary of Defense, or the Sec- 13 retary’s designee. 14 (B) The Secretary of Commerce, or the 15 Secretary’s designee. 16 (C) The Secretary of Labor, or the Sec- 17 retary’s designee. 18 (D) The Secretary of Health and Human 19 Services, or the Secretary’s designee. 20 (E) The Secretary of Homeland Security, 21 or the Secretary’s designee. 22 (F) The Secretary of Transportation, or 23 the Secretary’s designee. 24 (G) The Secretary of the Treasury, or the 25 Secretary’s designee. 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:03 Nov 29, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8785.IH H8785 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 8785 IH (H) The Secretary of Energy, or the Sec- 1 retary’s designee. 2 (I) The Administrator of the Small Busi- 3 ness Administration, or the Administrator’s 4 designee. 5 (J) The Chairman of the Federal Trade 6 Commission, or the Chairman’s designee. 7 (K) Two members who represent organized 8 labor, to be selected and appointed by the 9 Labor Advisory Committee for Trade Negotia- 10 tions and Trade Policy. 11 (L) Two members each, appointed by— 12 (i) the Speaker of the House of Rep- 13 resentatives; 14 (ii) the minority leader of the House 15 of Representatives; 16 (iii) the majority leader of the Senate; 17 (iv) the minority leader of the Senate; 18 and 19 (v) the President of the United 20 States. 21 (M) The head of any other agency or a 22 designee as determined by the Secretary of 23 Commerce, in consultation with the Secretary of 24 Defense and the Secretary of Labor. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:03 Nov 29, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8785.IH H8785 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 8785 IH (2) REQUIREMENTS.—Of the 10 members ap- 1 pointed under paragraph (1)(L), the members shall 2 be comprised of the following: 3 (A) Individuals with expertise in private in- 4 dustry. 5 (B) Individuals with experience working 6 with State and local governments. 7 (C) Academics and those with research ex- 8 perience in this field. 9 (D) Members of a trade group or associa- 10 tion. 11 (c) DUTIES.—The Committee shall carry out the fol- 12 lowing duties: 13 (1) Review and report on the strength, integ- 14 rity, and capacity of the manufacturing base of the 15 United States and supply chain for crucial, strategic 16 resources and products in the United States as iden- 17 tified by the Committee, including— 18 (A) identifying strategic resources that are 19 obtained or purchased from a foreign person or 20 imported into the United States; 21 (B) reporting on the benefits of increasing 22 production of strategic resources identified 23 under subparagraph (A) in the United States; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:03 Nov 29, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8785.IH H8785 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 8785 IH (C) identifying single-point-of-failure, 1 vulnerabilities, or areas where there is a threat 2 of disruption in the distribution and supply 3 chain of strategic resources and ways to diver- 4 sify manufacturing and supply chains; and 5 (D) assessing workforce readiness and the 6 availability of high-skilled labor. 7 (2) Develop proposals to diversify production 8 lines within the United States, including— 9 (A) the potential benefits of various tax 10 credits; 11 (B) long-term and low-interest rates loans; 12 (C) grants; 13 (D) investments in workforce development; 14 (E) research and technology sharing agree- 15 ments; and 16 (F) any other proposals that support and 17 attract investment in manufacturing in the 18 United States. 19 (3) Consider methods to increase consumer 20 awareness of products made in the United States 21 and the benefits the purchase of these products has 22 on communities and workers, including— 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:03 Nov 29, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8785.IH H8785 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 8785 IH (A) strengthening the enforcement of 1 ‘‘Made in U.S.A.’’ claims by the Federal Trade 2 Commission; and 3 (B) improving the information that retail- 4 ers provide to consumers on the country of ori- 5 gin of products, including those for online sales. 6 (4) Recommend policy proposals to improve 7 production and acquisition of materials and products 8 in the United States that have been identified by the 9 Committee to be critical products and supplies where 10 access can be severely limited in the event of global 11 supply chain disruption. 12 (5) Determine resulting workforce needs to im- 13 prove the production and acquisition of such mate- 14 rials and products in the United States. 15 (6) Review ways to disseminate best practices, 16 technical expertise, funding, or financing opportuni- 17 ties, and foster industry collaborations that improve 18 the competitiveness of manufacturers in the United 19 States. 20 (7) Review existing domestic content policies 21 and report on the following: 22 (A) Ways to improve compliance with the 23 policy or policies. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:03 Nov 29, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8785.IH H8785 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 8785 IH (B) The processes and considerations for 1 granting waivers under law. 2 (C) Identify programs, materials, and 3 products not currently covered by applicable 4 United States preference laws and regulations. 5 (D) Provide recommendations to extend 6 similar provisions that would increase the use of 7 goods sourced, manufactured, or assembled in 8 the United States to programs, materials, and 9 products according to subparagraph (C). 10 (d) CRITICAL PRODUCTS AND SUPPLIES.—The Com- 11 mittee shall identify products and industries to be further 12 developed that are critical for United States national and 13 economic interests, including— 14 (1) defense war-time production; 15 (2) materials and products for construction and 16 infrastructure projects; 17 (3) raw materials and supplies required for the 18 production of technology that the Committee deter- 19 mines is critical; and 20 (4) products and materials needed to respond to 21 a pandemic or other global health crisis. 22 (e) REPORTS.—Not later than 1 year after the date 23 on which the Committee is established, and every 2 years 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:03 Nov 29, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8785.IH H8785 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 8785 IH thereafter for 4 years, the Committee shall submit to Con- 1 gress a report— 2 (1) that details the findings of the Committee 3 and include recommendations for policies and ac- 4 tions to improve manufacturing independence in the 5 United States for products that the Committee has 6 determined are critical to meet identified targets; 7 and 8 (2) that details how to strengthen the require- 9 ments for United States content under section 313 10 of title 23, United States Code, or chapter 83 of 11 title 41, United States Code (commonly referred to 12 as the Buy American Act). 13 (f) TERMINATION.—The Committee shall terminate 14 on the date on which the final report is submitted pursu- 15 ant to subsection (e). 16 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:03 Nov 29, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H8785.IH H8785 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS