The official website of the Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Council

Build America Buy America

On November 15, 2021, President Biden signed into law the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which includes the Build America Buy Amercia Act (Pub. L. 117-58 §§ 70901-70927) (BABAA). BABAA strengthens Made in America laws and will bolster America's industrial base, protect national security, and support high-paying jobs. 

This webpage provides information on the Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Council’s (Council) compliance with BABAA. Background information on BABAA can be found at https://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/management/made-in-america/.

The Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Council (Council) has determined that the domestic preference requirements of the Build America, Buy America Act (BABAA) do not apply to Council expenditures. The Council was established pursuant to the RESTORE Act in response to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, the largest environmental disaster in US history. All Council expenditures are made pursuant to the RESTORE Act in order to advance ecosystem and economic recovery in the wake of the Deepwater Horizon disaster. BABAA specifically excludes post-disaster expenditures from its domestic preference requirements. This legal determination is limited to the funding allocations within the Council’s purview, which are the Council-Selected Restoration Component and the Spill Impact Component of the RESTORE Act1. The Council recognizes that supporting domestic manufacturing is in the nation’s best interest, and continues to encourage recipients of Council funding to establish a preference for the purchase, acquisition and use of domestically-produced products and materials to the greatest extent practicable.

1This determination supersedes the BABAA adjustment period waiver issued by the Council on August 10, 2022. More information on the waiver can be found at Build America Buy America Act (BABAA) Waiver.