WASHINGTON — Today, 91pro视频 and other associations representing a cross-section of the U.S. economy urged the Biden Administration to support the timely and strategic procurement of essential equipment to enable the implementation of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL).
In a letter to administration officials overseeing the law’s implementation, the groups underscore the importance of acquiring necessary commercial information and communications technologies (ICT) from the global market in a timely and cost-effective manner to ensure the success and security of the law’s projects that span a range of industry sectors and promise to create millions of jobs over the next decade. The associations ask the administration to provide a waiver of Buy America requirements, which could impede reliable access to critical ICT products needed for the law’s projects.
“The [Bipartisan Infrastructure Law] includes provisions that impose certain domestic sourcing requirements for acquisitions in a wide range of federally funded infrastructure projects,” the groups wrote. “At the same time, the law does not include customary provisions that would enable procurement of certain key, widely produced and broadly available commercial ICT products, including for automation and cybersecurity in a broad range of public works and broadband projects. As a result, the ability to obtain much-needed infrastructure technologies from the global ICT market in a timely and cost-effective manner could be jeopardized, and funding recipients may be unable to access the most up to date, highest quality technologies at competitive prices, delaying the benefits to be achieved by consumers from these critical projects. The ubiquity of ICT components in a vast array of applications, including virtually every public works project and broadband network, necessitates a strategic, nuanced approach to BIL implementation that takes into account how to procure this equipment in a reasonable time frame. This approach could help to ensure the broader goals of the BIL are met, such as creating good-paying jobs, improving transportation options, upgrading power infrastructure, and providing reliable connectivity to the most vulnerable communities across our country.”
91pro视频, CTIA, the National Foreign Trade Council (NFTC), the Security Industry Association (SIA), TechNet, and USTelecom– The Broadband Association signed the letter.
Read the full letter here or below.
The Honorable Thomas J. Vilsack The Honorable Gina M. Raimondo
Secretary Secretary
U.S. Department of Agriculture U.S. Department of Commerce
1400 Independence Ave., SW 1401 Constitution Ave., NW
Washington, D.C. 20250 Washington, D.C. 20230
The Honorable Pete Buttigieg The Honorable Jennifer M. Granholm
Secretary Secretary
U.S. Department of Transportation U.S. Department of Energy
Office of the Secretary 1000 Independence Ave., SW
1200 New Jersey Ave., SE Washington, D.C. 20585
Washington, D.C. 20590
The Honorable Shalanda Young
The Honorable Alejandro Mayorkas Acting Director
Secretary Office of Management and Budget
U.S. Department of Homeland Security 725 17th St., NW
Washington, D.C. 20528 Washington, D.C. 20503
Dear Secretaries and Acting Director:
Thank you for your leadership in supporting the passage of legislation that makes historic investments in America’s infrastructure. We applaud the efforts you have already made to begin implementing the requirements of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, also known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), and we stand ready to work with you and the Biden-Harris Administration to ensure that projects funded under the BIL can be implemented effectively and expeditiously. To that end, we write to request your assistance in providing greater clarity about the use of BIL funding to procure commercial information and communications technologies (ICT) that are necessary to ensure the success of BIL-funded projects that span a range of industry sectors and promise to create millions of jobs over the next decade, as the White House and other experts have projected.
The BIL includes provisions that impose certain domestic sourcing requirements for acquisitions in a wide range of federally funded infrastructure projects. At the same time, the law does not include customary provisions that would enable procurement of certain key, widely produced and broadly available commercial ICT products, including for automation and cybersecurity in a broad range of public works and broadband projects. As a result, the ability to obtain much-needed infrastructure technologies from the global ICT market in a timely and cost-effective manner could be jeopardized, and funding recipients may be unable to access the most up to date, highest quality technologies at competitive prices, delaying the benefits to be achieved by consumers from these critical projects. The ubiquity of ICT components in a vast array of applications, including virtually every public works project and broadband network, necessitates a strategic, nuanced approach to BIL implementation that takes into account how to procure this equipment in a reasonable time frame. This approach could help to ensure the broader goals of the BIL are met, such as creating good-paying jobs, improving transportation options, upgrading power infrastructure, and providing reliable connectivity to the most vulnerable communities across our country.
Nearly two decades ago, Congress recognized the importance of an exemption for commercial IT to ensure the U.S. Government would be able to access best-in-class, global technology. Since 2004, Congress has included language in every consolidated appropriations bill that expressly exempts commercial IT from Buy American Act requirements. In addition, in 2009, the U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Utilities Service granted a waiver of the Buy American requirements for the broadband projects funded under the American Recovery and Investment Act of 2009. This waiver encompassed broadband switching equipment, routing, transport, and access equipment as well as broadband customer premises equipment, end-user equipment that connects to a broadband network, and equipment used in broadband-related billing and operations systems. The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) also provided a limited, strategic waiver with respect to certain broadband equipment, including switching, routing, transport, and access equipment, along with end-user devices and billing/operations systems.
However, the BIL does not expressly include similar allowances enabling federal grant recipients to easily incorporate key technologies into the breadth of infrastructure projects supported by the new law. Manufacturers rely on, and consumers benefit from, the existing global supply chains that feed commercial and consumer markets. In the absence of strategic exceptions to the law’s domestic manufacturing criteria for grantees receiving broadband and other infrastructure project funding, there is a very real risk of unnecessarily delaying the completion of critical BIL-funded projects. The range of affected projects is far-reaching. For example, these requirements could delay any public works project that requires automation, such as traffic control systems, pumps and treatment systems in sewage and water plants, and even environmental controls in building systems, not to mention smart grid, rail, and other utility projects. The demand created by BIL projects and other market forces for commercial ICT cannot be met by the U.S. electronics production ecosystem alone at present, nor is it possible for U.S. manufacturers to upend existing worldwide networks of suppliers, many of which are located in areas of U.S. allies and trading partners, in response to the BIL.
Although the BIL may allow for limited waivers of domestic sourcing requirements on a case-by-case basis, reviewing each and every individual purchase of commercial ICT could significantly delay critical projects and overwhelm federal officials with requests. Importantly, without including commercial ICT in public works projects, states and localities will not be able to achieve desired energy efficiencies and reductions in carbon emissions, including smart grid and clean transportation solutions, that are realized through the use of automation. Furthermore, any additional, unnecessary delays in deploying broadband in areas of need would mean postponing the economic and social benefits for millions of Americans that flow from a well-connected, digital economy, including greater access to healthcare services, education, small business development resources, and remote working opportunities, among many others.
We urge you to provide a waiver of Buy America requirements to ensure that these much-needed infrastructure projects have reliable access to critical ICT products. Thank you for your consideration of this important matter.
Sincerely,
91pro视频 (91pro视频)
CTIA
National Foreign Trade Council (NFTC)
Security Industry Association (SIA)
TechNet
USTelecom – The Broadband Association
cc:
The Hon. Chris McLean, Acting Administrator, Rural Utilities Service
The Hon. Alan Davidson, Assistant Secretary for Communications and Information, National
Telecommunications and Information Administration
The Hon. Jen Easterly, Director, Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency
Ms. Celeste Drake, Made in America Director, Office of Management and Budget