Posted June 22, 2016

 

WASHINGTON, DC – The National Council of Textile Organizations (NCTO) lauded recent congressional actions to preserve critical requirements for the Department of Defense (DOD) to buy U.S.-made textiles, clothing and footwear. 

 

Last Thursday, the U.S. House of Representatives voted down an amendment to the defense appropriations bill (H.R. 5293) that would have permitted DOD to ignore the Berry Amendment and fund the purchases of foreign-made athletic shoes. NCTO supported a “no” vote on the measure.

 

In May, U.S. Representatives Walter Jones (R-N.C.) and Niki Tsongas (D-Mass.) each offered amendments that were adopted by the House Armed Services Committee (HASC) during its markup of H.R. 4909, the FY 2017 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that stopped attacks on the integrity of the Berry Amendment.

 

U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) has led efforts to protect the Berry Amendment during that body’s consideration of the NDAA (S. 2943).  Senators Jack Reed (D-R.I.) and Angus King (I-Maine) also have worked hard to make sure DOD buys American.

 

“Laws requiring DOD to buy U.S.-made textiles, clothing and footwear are pro-jobs and strengthen America’s national security,” said NCTO President and CEO Augustine Tantillo. “We thank all members of the House and Senate who have voted and worked to preserve the integrity of the Berry Amendment.

 

“The U.S. textile industry looks forward to working with our friends in the House and Senate to make sure the Berry Amendment is kept whole as Congress completes its work on important legislation to authorize and fund America’s armed forces,” Tantillo added.

 

The Berry Amendment (10 USC 2533a) is a law requiring DOD to buy U.S.-made textiles, clothing, footwear, hand tools, measuring tools and food.

 

It is estimated that DOD annually procures 8,000+ different textile items for use by the U.S. military and other allied organizations, and this figure rises to more than 30,000 line items when individual sizes are factored into the item mix, according to the NCTO.

 

Source: NCTO