RT NewsAny American flag purchased by the US Defense Department from now on will be legally required to have been made in the United States.
The new law, which goes into effect on Friday, is an apparent attempt to curtail flag purchases from China, which spiked following the demand generated by the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in New York.
The new policy first passed last month as part of the $1.1 trillion omnibus appropriations bill, which funded the government through September 30, but the flag stipulation officially became law on Friday.
American flags have always been produced inside the US, but businesses have saved significant amounts of money by ordering them from China – a trend that became especially popular when the demand for flags increased after the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
Representative Mike Thompson (D-Calif.), who is running for a ninth term in Congress, said Friday that he was surprised the policy was not already a law.
“I thought it was appalling our Department of Defense would have flags made in other countries,” he said. “But it’s also important because we need to be making more in America.”
The new law is an update to the Berry Amendment of 1941. That amendment forbids the Defense Department from purchasing food, clothing, military uniforms, fabric, stainless steel, and hand or measuring tools produced outside the US other than in extraordinary conditions.
“American flags are something we all can agree should be made in America,” Thompson said. “I am proud to have worked to pass this law so that our men and women in uniform never have to fight under a US flag made overseas, and so that our Defense Department never again spends American tax dollars on a US flag made overseas.”
US manufacturers simply could not keep up with the amount of flags that needed to be produced during the surge of patriotism following the 2001 attacks. The market for foreign-made flags was valued at approximately $1 million per year before the World Trade Center fell, but that figure jumped to a shocking $52 million as millions of people placed new flags on their vehicles and outside their homes after 9/11.
http://rt.com/usa/american-military-banned-purchasing-flags-198/
Yea, this should be a slap in the face of every america. It is like the govt is sayin ” screw you america, screw you good and hard” is how I take what those responsible for sending all those jobs over seas.
It is long over due to bring the jobs back to where they belong in the first place. There are plenty of hard loyal workers right here. Then again our american govt. loves slave labor and low paying jobs.
There was a time not too ling ago when EVERYTHING purchased by the American military, and American police departments had to be made in the U.S.A.
They’re passing this law because Chinese-made American flags have become an icon of our disappearing manufacturing capabilities, but they’ll probably import Chinese slaves to make the flags here anyway. They’ll fight tooth and nail to avoid giving a white American a job. They only want the last of your money.
The traitors are throwing us a bone by saying “okay, we’ll let you make the flags, but the rest of your resource wealth goes straight to China.”
Should not need to be law it should be common sense… These people need their hands held at every turn… How can any of our government officials even function in life without holding mommy’s hand? It boggles the mind really…
Funny thing is the TPP super NAFTA “free” trade bill the President and his corporate RINO/DINO allies are pushing bans “buy American” provisions like this.