[Senate Report 113-236]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
113th Congress
2d Session SENATE Report
113-236
_______________________________________________________________________
Calendar No. 504
ALL-AMERICAN FLAG ACT
__________
R E P O R T
of the
COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND
GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS
UNITED STATES SENATE
to accompany
S. 1214
TO REQUIRE THE PURCHASE OF DOMESTICALLY MADE FLAGS OF THE UNITED STATES
OF AMERICA FOR USE BY THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT
July 31, 2014.--Ordered to be printed
COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS
THOMAS R. CARPER, Delaware, Chairman
CARL LEVIN, Michigan TOM COBURN, Oklahoma
MARK L. PRYOR, Arkansas JOHN McCAIN, Arizona
MARY L. LANDRIEU, Louisiana RON JOHNSON, Wisconsin
CLAIRE McCASKILL, Missouri ROB PORTMAN, Ohio
JON TESTER, Montana RAND PAUL, Kentucky
MARK BEGICH, Alaska MICHAEL B. ENZI, Wyoming
TAMMY BALDWIN, Wisconsin KELLY AYOTTE, New Hampshire
HEIDI HEITKAMP, North Dakota
Gabrielle A. Batkin, Staff Director
John P. Kilvington, Deputy Staff Director
Mary Beth Schultz, Chief Counsel
Troy H. Cribb, Chief Counsel for Governmental Affairs
Abigail A. Shenkle, Research Assistant
Keith B. Ashdown, Minority Staff Director
Christopher J. Barkley, Minority Deputy Staff Director
Andrew C. Dockham, Minority Chief Counsel
David Z. Demirbilek, Minority Counsel
Laura W. Kilbride, Chief Clerk
Calendar No. 504
113th Congress
SENATE
Report
2d Session 113-236
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ALL-AMERICAN FLAG ACT
_______
July 31, 2014.--Ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Carper, from the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental
Affairs, submitted the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany S. 1214]
The Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental
Affairs, to which was referred the bill (S. 1214), to require
the purchase of domestically made flags of the United States of
America for use by the Federal Government, reports favorably
thereon without amendment and recommends that the bill do pass.
CONTENTS
Page
I. Purpose and Summary..............................................1
II. Background.......................................................2
III. Legislative History..............................................2
IV. Section-by-Section Analysis of the Bill, as Reported.............3
V. Estimated Cost of Legislation....................................4
VI. Evaluation of Regulatory Impact..................................4
VII. Changes in Existing Law..........................................5
I. PURPOSE AND SUMMARY
The All-American Flag Act (S. 1214) requires that flags of
the United States of America purchased for use by the federal
government be 100 percent made and manufactured in the United
States, from articles, materials or supplies 100 percent of
which are grown, produced, or manufactured in the United
States. The bill allows for waivers of this requirement in case
of ``unreasonable costs or delays'' or adverse affects on a
United States company. It also requires that the Act be applied
in a manner consistent with U.S. obligations under
international agreements.
II. BACKGROUND AND THE NEED FOR LEGISLATION
Currently, flag purchases by federal agencies are generally
subject to the Buy American Act\1\ and the regulations
implementing that Act, which generally provide that the cost of
components mined, produced, or manufactured in the United
States must exceed 50% of the cost of all components.\2\ The
Buy American Act regulations contain a number of exceptions to
that rule. For example, the regulations permit the purchase of
foreign products when the costs of domestic ones are
unreasonable, and the rule does not apply to certain purchases
(e.g., small-value purchases and purchases of goods that will
be used outside the United States).\3\
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\1\41 U.S.C. Sec. Sec. 8301-8305.
\2\48 C.F.R. Sec. 25.003.
\3\48 C.F.R. Sec. 25.103 and 48 C.F.R. Sec. 25.202.
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Purchases by the Department of Defense of certain products,
including fabrics, are subject to additional source
restrictions under a law originally passed in 1941 and known as
the Berry Amendment.\4\ Items covered by the Berry Amendment
must be 100% domestic in origin.\5\ Like the Buy American Act,
the Berry Amendment allows for a number of exceptions to the
general rule, including when a satisfactory quality and
sufficient quantity of an item cannot be procured when needed
at United States market prices.\6\
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\4\10 U.S.C. Sec. 2533a.
\5\Fabrics are covered items under the Berry Amendment under 10
U.S.C. 2533a(b)(C) and therefore the Department of Defense has applied
the Berry Amendment to fabric used in flags. Also, a provision of the
Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2014 provides that Department of
Defense purchases of U.S. flags with funds provided by the Act must
comply with the Berry Amendment. (Section 8123, P.L. 113-76.)
\6\10 U.S.C. Sec. 2533a(c) and 48 C.F.R. Sec. 225.7002-2(b).
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The All-American Flag Act would provide a new, simple
government-wide rule for United States of America flags so that
this symbol, when used by the federal government, would be
authentically American. Specifically, the bill would require
that United States of America flags acquired for use by the
federal government be 100 percent manufactured in the United
States. Additionally, the articles, materials, or supplies
contained in the flags must be 100 percent grown, produced, or
manufactured in the United States.
The bill would allow for a limited waiver of the 100
percent rule if the head of an agency determines, on a case-by-
case basis, that the application of the rule would cause
unreasonable costs or delays, or if application of the rule
would adversely affect a United States company.
The bill also provides that the rule will be applied in a
manner consistent with United States obligations under
international agreements. This will ensure that the United
States upholds commitments in specific trade agreements that
relate to the treatment of products of U.S. trading
partners.\7\
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\7\The Trade Agreements Act (19 U.S.C. 2501 et. seq.) also allows
for waivers of the Buy American Act to ensure consistency of
procurements with international trade obligations. See 48 C.F.R.
Sec. 25.402.
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III. LEGISLATIVE HISTORY
Senator Brown introduced S. 1214, the All-American Flag
Act, on June 24, 2013. Senators Rockefeller and Collins
cosponsored the bill. The bill was referred to the Senate
Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. The
Committee considered the bill at a business meeting on June 25,
2014.
The committee ordered the bill reported favorably by voice
vote on June 25, 2014. Senators present for the vote were
Senators Carper, Levin, McCaskill, Tester, Heitkamp, Coburn,
McCain, Johnson, and Portman.
IV. SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS
Section 1: Short title
The short title of the bill is the ``All-American Flag
Act.''
Section 2: Requirement for purchase of domestically made U.S. flags for
use by Federal Government
Subsection 2(a): In general
This subsection requires that only U.S. flags that are 100
percent manufactured in the United States, from articles,
materials, or supplies 100 percent of which are grown,
produced, or manufactured in the U.S., may be acquired for use
by the Federal Government.
Subsection 2(b): Waiver
This subsection sets out a waiver for the requirement to
purchase 100 percent American-made U.S. flags as set forth in
subsection (a). Subsection 2(b)(1) authorizes the head of an
executive agency to waive the requirement in the case that the
application of the limitation would cause unreasonable costs or
delays to be incurred, and subsection 2(b)(2) authorizes the
head of an executive agency to waive the requirement in the
case that application of the limitation would adversely affect
a United States company.
Subsection 2(c): Amendment of Federal Acquisition
Regulation
This subsection requires the Federal Acquisition Regulatory
Council to amend the Federal Acquisition Regulation to
implement this section within 180 days of enactment of this
Act.
Subsection 2(d): Definitions
This subsection defines the term ``executive agency'' as
having the meaning given that term in section 133 of title 41,
United States Code, which includes the major departments of the
executive branch, the military departments, other government
agencies (other than the United States Postal Service or the
Postal Regulatory Commission) and wholly owned government
corporations; and the term ``Federal Acquisition Regulation''
as having the meaning given the term in section 106 of title
41, United States Code, which refers to the government-wide
body of procurement regulations that are issued and maintained
jointly by the Administrator of the General Services
Administration, the Secretary of Defense, the Administrator of
the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
Section 3: Effective date
This section requires that purchases of flags made on or
after 180 days after enactment of this Act comply with the Act.
Section 4: Consistency with international trade agreements
This section requires that this Act be applied in a manner
consistent with United States obligations under international
agreements.
V. CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE COST ESTIMATE
July 9, 2014.
Hon. Tom Carper,
Chairman, Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, U.S.
Senate, Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for S. 1214, the All-
American Flag Act.
If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Matthew
Pickford.
Sincerely,
Douglas W. Elmendorf.
Enclosure.
S. 1214--All-American Flag Act
CBO estimates that enacting S. 1214 would have no
significant effect on the federal budget. The legislation would
amend federal law to require that all American flags acquired
by the federal government be manufactured in the United States
from materials grown, produced, or manufactured in the United
States. The legislation also would provide exceptions from this
requirement if complying with it would adversely affect a U.S.
company or result in unreasonable costs or delay in acquiring
flags.
Based on information from the General Services
Administration and affected vendors, CBO expects that
implementing this bill would have no significant effect on the
federal budget because of the bill's broad exemptions and
because the federal government already acquires some flags from
manufacturers that meet the requirements of the legislation.
Enacting S. 1214 also could affect direct spending by agencies
not funded through annual appropriations, such as the Tennessee
Valley Authority and the Bonneville Power Administration;
therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures apply. CBO estimates,
however, that any net increase in spending by those agencies
would not be significant. Enacting S. 1214 would not affect
revenues.
S. 1214 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and
would not affect the budgets of state, local, or tribal
governments.
The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Matthew
Pickford. The estimate was approved by Theresa Gullo, Deputy
Assistant Director for Budget Analysis.
VI. EVALUATION OF REGULATORY IMPACT
Pursuant to the requirements of paragraph 11(b) of rule
XXVI of the Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee has
considered the regulatory impact that would be incurred in
carrying out this legislation and determined that the bill will
have no regulatory effect within the meaning of the rules.
The Committee agrees with the Congressional Budget Office
that the bill contains no intergovernmental or private-sector
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA)
and would impose no costs on state, local, or tribal
governments, or private entities. The legislation contains no
other regulatory impact.
VII. CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW MADE BY THE BILL, AS REPORTED
Because this legislation would not repeal or amend any
provision of current law, it would make no changes in existing
law within the meaning of clauses (a) and (b) of paragraph 12
of rule XXVI of the Standing Rules of the Senate.