Deco Lighting: Solutions for National Recovery

Deco Lighting can help you take advantage of the opportunities that have risen by the passing of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).

With a multitude of products that are ARRA-eligible, we have aligned our businesses, product innovations and acquisition strategies to provide a wide range of solutions to address key global trends facing businesses and economies worldwide including Energy Efficiency, Energy Demand, Global Infrastructure, and Safety & Notification.

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act

On February 17, 2009 Congress passed the final version of the financial stimulus legislation "American Recovery and Reinvestment Act," also called ARRA. ARRA contains a strong "Buy American" provision to ensure the support of domestic companies and domestic workers.

Elements of the Act

• Revive the renewable energy industry and provide the capital over the next three years to eventually double domestic renewable energy capacity.
• Enact the largest increase in funding of our nation's roads, bridges, and mass transit systems since the creation of the national highway system in the 1950s.
• Invest $4.5B on Energy Delivery and Reliability, and $16.8B on Energy Efficiency.

ARRA imposes specific requirements on the origin of materials and manufactured goods used in projects receiving this stimulus money. Section 1605 specifically states that no funds appropriated by the Act may be used for a public buildings/works project unless "all iron, steel and manufactured goods used... are produced in the U.S." This provision is often referred to as the Buy American provision. For public works projects with a total contract price less than $7.4 million, any manufactured good must comply with this requirement unless its use would increase the total project cost by 25%. As far as what constitutes U.S. manufacture, ARRA looks to provisions from the Trade Agreements Act (TAA) that define a U.S. manufactured product as wholly grown, produced or manufactured in the United States or a designated country or substantially transformed in the United States. This "substantial transformation" test focuses on where, or in which country, the product took on its essential character and form.

While a preference is expressed for U.S.-made goods for use in larger projects (totaling more than $7.4 million), these projects may also use goods manufactured in specific foreign countries signatory to the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) and the World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement. We offer a range of products that comply with these provisions.