Welcome to Feldesman’s Grants Practice Shorts series where we discuss helpful tips and strategies in common areas of federal grant management. Be sure to check out our other installments on our Grants Practice Shorts page.

Prior Approvals

Procurements of property or services that will constitute capital expenditures from an accounting standpoint generally require prior approval from the federal funding agency.  Such procurement events most commonly include: (i) acquisition or real property or equipment; and (ii) improvement of real property, i.e. construction and renovation events.  For relevant definitions and standards, see 2 C.F.R. §§ 200.1 (definitions of “capital expenditures,” “capital assets,” and “equipment”), 200.439 (selected item of cost for acquisition of equipment or other capital assets), and 200.407 (reiterating prior approval requirements appearing throughout other sections of the Uniform Guidance).

Domestic Sourcing

There is a soft preference for procurement of goods, products or materials produced in the United States when using federal grant funds for the acquisition. 2 C.F.R. § 200.322. More recently, a broad new domestic source requirement has been enacted for federally supported “infrastructure” projects. Specifically, the Build America, Buy America Act (BABA) requires, for federally funded expenditures for “covered infrastructure,” all steel and iron, manufactured products, and construction materials must be domestically sources. Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, Pub. L. 117-58, Sec. 70914 (Nov. 15, 2021); implemented by regulation at 2 C.F.R. Part 184.  The regulatory definition of “infrastructure” is very broad.  For further discussion of this topic, please consult Feldesman client alert [insert title and link to Sheffler client alert on BABA].

For questions concerning our Grants Practice Shorts series, please contact Phillip A. Escoriaza, Senior Counsel, at 202.466.8960 or pescoriaza@feldesman.com.