Bill Would Finally Put Troops in American-Made Shoes

U.S. Rep. Bruce Poliquin (R-ME) and U.S. Rep. Niki Tsongas (D-MA) introduced legislation that would require the Department of Defense (DoD) to outfit troops with shoes made in the U.S. “The Stepping Up for American Workers and Troops Act,” H.R. 4935 would require the DoD to abide by the Berry Amendment, a law passed in 1941 that requires American-made products to be supplied to troops to the greatest extent possible.

More than two years after the Pentagon committed to providing American-made footwear to new military recruits, U.S. service members are still lacing up Asian-made sneakers. The department has circumvented this policy by issuing cash allowances to new recruits for training shoes, which are not required to be American-made. However, this legislation would require the department to adhere to the Berry Amendment without using cash allowances for foreign athletic shoes.

“We need to hold them to their commitment they made in 2014, which has not been followed through on,” said Tsongas.

“In light of tremendous investment by industries right here in Massachusetts and throughout New England, there are now high-quality, 100-percent American-made athletic shoe options available to the Department of Defense,” she added in a statement. “It is time the DOD stops stalling and moves the process forward.”

Several American companies, including New Balance, have developed the ability to produce 100 percent Berry compliant athletic shoes.

“This legislation will be an important step forward in rectifying what has been an inequity in the application of the federal law known as the Berry Amendment,” said Matt LeBretton, Vice President of Public Affairs for New Balance. “Congresswoman Tsongas has been a champion for U.S. manufacturing throughout the course of her career and we are grateful for her and Congressman Poliquin’s support of the domestic footwear industry. We welcome this legislation and look forward to getting further details on implementation from the Defense Department. It’s time that our troops are outfitted in high quality athletic footwear that is Made in America.”

The Pentagon has told New Balance that their shoes are not durable enough, according to LeBretton. He called that “incredibly offensive.”

“They should be ashamed of themselves for saying that,” LeBretton said, stressing that New Balance has been producing shoes for 110 years.