Government Research and Procurement
USFMA strongly supports programs that require the U.S. Government to purchase American-made footwear with taxpayer funds. These policies not only support domestic manufacturing and national security but also ensure that U.S. taxpayer money is spent on footwear manufactured in the United States.
Berry Amendment
The Berry Amendment requires the Department of Defense to purchase footwear and other items that are 100% sourced and produced in the United States. This 1941 law ensures that the United States will have a domestic industrial base capable of providing the equipment that our military needs in times of war. Because of the Berry Amendment, combat boots, military dress shoes and, most recently, athletic shoes issued to enlisted recruits during basic training are produced by the domestic footwear industry.
As the voice of the Berry Amendment footwear industry, USFMA opposes any effort to reduce or limit Berry Amendment requirements on footwear. Consequently, USFMA actively promotes and supports the development of new programs and requirements tailored to ensuring all footwear worn by U.S. military personnel on duty is Berry Amendment compliant.
Military Footwear Research
In 2021, USFMA worked successfully with Congress to establish the Department of Defense’s first ever dedicated military footwear research program to foster collaborative development of innovative footwear manufacturing materials, tools, equipment and processes by the military, academia, and the domestic footwear manufacturing base in order to improve footwear for vital warfighter missions and to strengthen the Berry Amendment industrial base.
Department of Homeland Security
Since August 2009, the Kissell Amendment has required DHS, when using appropriated funds directly related to national security interests, to buy textiles, clothing, and footwear from domestic sources (the Kissell Amendment is more limited than Berry because it generally applies only to uniform items and body armor). Furthermore, although the Kissell Amendment, as enacted, applies to all agencies of DHS, in practice its restrictions apply only to the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and the US Coast Guard. Because pre-existing WTO and other free trade agreement commitments restrict application of the Kissell amendment to procurement actions by other DHS agencies such as the Secret Service, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and Customs and Border Protection, for those agencies, Kissell applies only where it does not contravene those commitments.
Accordingly, USFMA promotes the expansion of the Kissell Amendment to cover all DHS uniformed components as well as the requirement that all footwear worn on duty by any uniformed employee of DHS be 100% manufactured and sourced in the United States.
Expansion of Buy America in Government Procurement
Buy America laws ensure that taxpayer dollars are used to purchase products made in the United States. Buy America strengthens domestic manufacturing, creates good paying jobs and ensures that our government purchases the highest quality goods.
USFMA supports all reasonable Buy America rules and encourages Congress to strengthen Buy America procurement rules for all federal agencies.