President Barack Obama signed the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017 on Dec. 23, 2016. The law requires the Department of Defense to give new recruits athletic shoes that comply with the Berry Amendment, which means USA-made shoes, instead of cash to buy their own.
What the law changed
The Berry Amendment requires the military to buy uniforms, clothing and other textile items made in the USA, with limited exceptions. The Pentagon already applied it to combat boots and service uniforms. Since 2002, though, it had given recruits a cash allowance to buy training shoes, and those shoes did not have to be made in the USA.
Section 817 of the law (Public Law 114-328) changed that for recruits entering the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps. It also applies the Berry Amendment to these shoe purchases even when they fall below the simplified acquisition threshold, the dollar level below which many purchases are normally exempt.
Sen. Angus King said the requirement would be phased in over two years. Rep. Bruce Poliquin’s office said the Defense Department had agreed in 2014 to close the footwear loophole but had not acted on it.
Who pushed it
Poliquin, R-Maine, and Rep. Niki Tsongas, D-Mass., led the effort in the House. Sens. Susan Collins and Angus King of Maine led it in the Senate. The House passed the final bill on Dec. 2, 2016.
The provision mattered most to New Balance, which the Associated Press described as the only major athletic shoe company making footwear in the USA. The company employed 900 people at factories in Skowhegan, Norridgewock and Norway, Maine. New Balance manufacturing director Brendan Melley said the rule could mean an additional 250,000 pairs of sneakers a year.
For how it played out, see the 2018 New Balance contract and recruits receiving USA-made sneakers in 2019.
FAQ
What did Section 817 require?
The Defense Department must issue Berry Amendment-compliant athletic shoes directly to new recruits instead of a cash allowance.
When was it signed?
December 23, 2016, as part of the FY2017 NDAA.
Which company was expected to benefit?
New Balance, which made athletic shoes at factories in Maine.
Source & credit
Source: Sen. Angus King: “President Signs Into Law Athletic Footwear Provision Championed by King & Maine Congressional Delegation”, Dec. 23, 2016.
Also: Associated Press via KOLO: “Military made-in-USA provision could be boost to New Balance”; Rep. Bruce Poliquin release, Dec. 2, 2016; DFARS proposed rule on Section 817.