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Date Issued
Submitting OIG
Department of Transportation OIG
Agencies Reviewed/Investigated
Department of Transportation
Components
Federal Aviation Administration
Report Number
FI2026025
Report Description

Our Objective(s) 

To determine to what extent the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) award and administration of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA)-funded facility and equipment (F&E) contracts meet domestic content laws and Agency requirements. Our findings are organized as follows: (1) FAA's Buy American IIJA-funded contract clauses, (2) FAA's Buy American waiver process, and (3) FAA's Buy American IIJA-funded contract data. 

Why This Audit 

Under IIJA, FAA received $25 billion between fiscal years 2022 and 2026 to address aging infrastructure-$5 billion of which is for F&E procurements. Enacted as part of IIJA, the Build America, Buy America Act (BABA) expanded existing domestic content laws. Our previous work identified several issues with FAA's oversight and administration of its Buy American program applicable to contracts. We initiated this audit given these previous findings, the magnitude of FAA's IIJA funding, and the intended impact of domestic content laws on the Nation's economy. 

What We Found 

FAA did not always include required Buy American-related clauses in IIJA-funded contracts. 

  • FAA Contracting Officers must include all applicable Buy American-related clauses in IIJA-funded contracts. However, five of the nine contracts in our review were missing Buy American-related clauses-representing approximately $272.7 million in IIJA funds that could be put to better use. 

FAA did not always properly issue Buy American waivers to support the use of foreign products in IIJA-funded contracts. 

  • For the nine contracts included in our review, we confirmed FAA used foreign products in three of them-representing a total of $115.9 million in IIJA funds. These three contracts had Buy American waiver issues where FAA did not obtain a required waiver, did not follow the waiver approval process, and used a longstanding waiver without reassessing it. 

FAA lacked complete and accurate Buy American data on its IIJA-Funded contracts. 

  • FAA's Federal Procurement Data System-Next Generation (FPDS-NG) contained incomplete and inaccurate Buy American-related contract data, affecting DOT's ability to report accurate Buy American data to the Office of Management and Budget. 

Recommendations 

We made 6 recommendations to improve FAA's monitoring and enforcement of Buy American requirements for IIJA-funded contracts.

Report Type
Audit
Agency Wide
Yes
Number of Recommendations
6
Questioned Costs
$0
Funds for Better Use
$272,700,000
Report updated under NDAA 5274
No
External Link
https://www.oig.dot.gov/library-item/47252

Open Recommendations

This report has 6 open recommendations.
Recommendation Number Significant Recommendation Recommended Questioned Costs Recommended Funds for Better Use Additional Details
1 Yes $0 $272,700,000

Update written procedures to clarify what Buy American-related clauses are required in contracts partially or fully funded by IIJA and when these clauses must be added into an existing contract. Implementing this recommendation could put up to $272.7 million in Federal funds to better use by improving FAA's ability to enforce Buy American compliance in IIJA-funded contracts.

5 Yes $0 $0

Update AMS to include requirements that contractors on contracts partially or fully funded by IIJA submit updated Buy American Act certificates if anything changes during the life of the contract. This AMS update should also explain how to implement this requirement when IIJA funds are added to existing contracts.

2 Yes $0 $0

Implement written procedures to verify that contracting officials comply with Acquisition Management System (AMS) requirements for applying Buy American waivers to contracts partially or fully funded by IIJA.

3 Yes $0 $0

Implement written procedures to track and annually review all Buy American waivers associated with contracts partially or fully funded by IIJA. This annual review must check if each waiver remains relevant and aligns with current requirements.

6 Yes $0 $0

Conduct and record annual training for procurement staff regarding Buy American requirements for contracts involving IIJA funds

4 Yes $0 $0

Implement a written reference guide to detail how Buy American-related data should be entered into the Federal Procurement Data System Next Generation.

Department of Transportation OIG

United States