Federal Agencies Must Increase Biobased Purchasing Annually, Prioritizing U.S.-Made Goods

If you’ve ever wondered what the government buys with your tax dollars—beyond the big stuff like planes and missiles—this bill is about making sure more of those everyday purchases are made from renewable resources, not petroleum. The Biobased Market Expansion Act of 2025 is essentially a massive upgrade to the existing federal program that requires agencies to buy biobased products, like biodegradable cleaning supplies, plant-based packaging, or even certain types of paint and lubricants.

The Mandate: Buy More, Buy American

The core of this bill is simple: Federal agencies must now increase their biobased purchasing goals every single year. This isn’t a one-and-done target; it’s a commitment to continuous growth, meaning agencies need to buy either a higher volume of these products or award more contracts for them compared to the year before. This continuous pressure is designed to create a stable, growing market for companies making products from crops, forestry materials, and other renewable sources.

Crucially, the bill also tightens up the rules on when an agency can skip buying a biobased product. Right now, agencies can often claim an exemption if a biobased option is too expensive. This bill narrows that loophole. Agencies can only skip the biobased option if the non-biobased alternative costs more than a specific price preference amount set by the program, or if it doesn't meet standard procurement rules. This makes it harder for contracting officers to just default to the cheapest, non-renewable option.

For manufacturers and farmers, the biggest win here is the explicit focus on domestic production. The program is now directed to actively promote and establish specific price advantages for biobased products made either entirely or partially in the United States. If you’re a small business owner who invested in a biorefinery or a farmer growing the feedstock, this creates a clear incentive for the government to buy your U.S.-made goods over foreign alternatives.

Transparency and Training: No More Hiding

One of the most powerful changes in this Act is the massive push for transparency. For years, it’s been tough to track if agencies were actually meeting their biobased goals. Now, federal agencies must publish details about their compliance—including any roadblocks they hit—on a public website. Even better, if an agency fails to meet its required purchasing level, it must publicly report the failure, explain why, and list the specific product categories where they couldn't find commercially available biobased options.

This public shaming, backed by data, is a huge accountability boost. It means that if an agency claims it can’t find a biobased option for, say, office furniture, a U.S. manufacturer who does make that product can now see that gap and potentially step in. To make sure the system works, the bill mandates that contracting officers and relevant staff must complete training on buying biobased products within two years. Plus, the GSA must update the Federal catalogs within the same timeframe so that eligible biobased products are clearly marked—no more excuses that they didn't know which products counted.

What This Means for the Economy

This isn't just about greener procurement; it's an economic development play. The new reporting requirements mandate that the program track the economic value flowing back to the agricultural industry. They also have to track the geographic location and value of the biomanufacturing facilities and biorefineries that are making these products. This means policymakers will finally get hard data on how much this federal spending is boosting rural economies and domestic manufacturing.

For the average person, this bill translates into more demand for U.S. crops and agricultural waste products, potentially stabilizing commodity prices and creating jobs in the domestic bio-manufacturing sector. The biggest challenge in implementation will be defining that specific “price preference amount” and ensuring agencies don't use the vague “doesn’t meet standard procurement rules” as a new excuse to avoid compliance. However, with mandatory public reporting and a required GAO review within two years to check up on the whole system, the pressure is on agencies to actually follow through.