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Course Details

Course Information
  • smart_display Format

    On-Demand

  • signal_cellular_alt Difficulty Level

    Intermediate

  • work Practice Area

    Commercial Law

Date & Time
  • event Date

    Tuesday, November 7, 2023

  • schedule Time

    1:00 p.m. ET./10:00 a.m. PT

  • timer Program Length

    90 minutes

Credit Information

  • This 90-minute webinar is eligible in most states for 1.5 CLE credits.

$297.00
CLE
ALL

This CLE webinar will discuss the Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) new final guidance implementing the Build America, Buy America Act's (BABA) requirements for domestic sourcing and manufacturing for federally funded infrastructure projects. The panel will discuss the guidelines' broad implications for awardees of federal funding, prospective applicants, contractors, and suppliers.

Faculty

Jayna Marie Rust
Partner
Thompson Coburn LLP.

Ms. Rust advises companies, transportation authorities, educational institutions, and other entities regarding their rights and obligations when doing business with or receiving financial assistance from the federal government and in litigating against (or with) it on contract disputes. She helps clients recover money owed under federal contracts, challenge adverse agency actions, and protest problematic contract awards or defend against competitors' protests. Additionally, Ms. Rust counsels and advises clients on contract- and grant-administration matters. This work includes analyzing and negotiating subcontractor and subrecipient agreements, following small-business requirements, and complying with domestic-preference policies, such as the Buy American Act, the Trade Agreements Act, and the Cargo Preference Acts. Ms. Rust is also a professor of Government Contracts Advocacy at The George Washington University Law School.

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Cara A. Wulf
Partner
McCarter & English

Ms. Wulf focuses her practice on government contracts and regulations. She has extensive experience counseling clients regarding compliance with federal, state and local public procurement requirements. She also assists in litigation involving bid protests, claims, and other disputes before federal agencies, courts and the U.S. Government Accountability Office. Prior to joining the firm, Ms. Wulf worked for multiple U.S. Department of Defense agencies, through which she gained experience with complex government regulations, including the FAR and DFARS.

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Description

On Aug. 23, 2023, the OMB published new final guidance implementing the domestic sourcing requirements of BABA, a sweeping change to domestic sourcing requirements for federally funded infrastructure projects. The final guidance applies to awards of federal financial assistance obligated on or after Oct. 23, 2023.

BABA contains different requirements for articles, materials, and supplies depending on whether each is categorized as: (1) a construction material; (2) a manufactured product; (3) a steel or iron product; or (4) a Section 70917(c) material--a new category added by the revised guidance to include product categories listed in BABA as excluded materials.

BABA requirements apply to all awards of federal financial assistance for infrastructure projects in the U.S., notwithstanding whether the awardee receives funding from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act or other statutory sources. Therefore, the BABA requirements will apply to awards of federal financial assistance for infrastructure projects provided under existing programs, including loans made under the Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act and the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act programs, as well as newly created programs, such as programs under the CHIPS and Science Act and Inflation Reduction Act, with certain exceptions.

Listen as our authoritative and experienced panel of government contract practitioners highlights how the OMB's final guidance departs from or builds on earlier guidance and provides tips and next steps for stakeholders potentially affected by BABA.

Outline

  1. Background and overview
  2. Scope and applicability of final guidance implementing BABA requirements
    1. Federal financial assistance and for-profit entities
    2. Infrastructure projects
    3. Effective date
  3. Reconciling with existing domestic-preference requirements
  4. Requirements for types of articles, materials, and supplies
    1. Iron and/or steel products
    2. Manufactured products
    3. Construction materials
    4. Stone, sand, gravel, and aggregate materials
  5. Waiver process
  6. Implementation of BABA requirements across all federal agencies
  7. Future agency and OMB guidance
  8. Conclusion and next steps

Benefits

The panel will review these and other key issues:

  • What is the history and background of the OMB's final guidance on the BABA domestic sourcing requirements?
  • What are the key definitions and terms from the final guidance and how will they impact federally funded projects?
  • What are the circumstances when a waiver of the BABA requirements may be justified?
  • What are the next steps for companies that are recipients of funding subject to BABA?