JULY 2018 • FOGHORN 23 LEGISLATIVEREPORT as the executive order for the most part merely restated existing statutes. Nevertheless, the President sent a clear message to the federal managers who oversee Buy America laws: adhere to them strictly and be very miserly if someone requests a waiver. This is a meaningful message, and any recipient of a federal grant subject to a Buy America requirement will be well advised to be aware of it. When it comes to the domestic passenger vessel sector, the most consequential Buy America require- ment is found in the Jones Act and the Passenger Vessel Services Act (PVSA). Found at section 55013 of title 46 United States Code, the PVSA mandates that the carriage of a passenger for hire from one point in the U.S. to another U.S. point is reserved to a vessel that is built in the U.S., registered under the U.S. flag, owned by a U.S. citizen, and crewed by U.S. citizens and permanent resident aliens. The Passenger Vessel Association has traditionally supported the PVSA and has resisted past proposals by some (for example, Senator John McCain) to weaken or even eliminate it or to grant special leg- islative waivers to individual foreign- flagged vessels. Specific Buy America statutory requirements come into play when federal grants are awarded for capital investments in ferry vessels and in- frastructure. The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) oversees the formula-based Ferry Grant Program. Section 313 of title 23 United States Code establishes Buy America mandates for these ferry grants. Ferry projects financed by FHWA must use “steel, iron, and manufactured products” that are produced in the United States. Curiously, FHWA interprets the Buy America requirement to not apply to aluminum products, only to iron and steel products. FHWAcan excuse compliance with the Buy American requirement, but only if the Secretary of Transportation determines: (1) that imposition of the Buy America requirement “would be inconsistent with the public interest;” (2) that the materials and products are not produced in the U.S. in sufficient and reasonably available quantities and of a satisfactory quality; or (3) that inclusion of the domestic material will increase the cost of the overall project contract by more than 25 percent. See section 635.410 of title 23 Code of Federal Regulations. U s u a l l y, a w a i v e r m u s t b e requested, considered, and granted on a project-by-project basis. However, in rare instances, FHWA has granted a nationwide waiver. In 1994, the agency issued a waiver for certain ferry boat components. It permits the use of spe- cifically identified steel equipment and