House & Senate Strengthen Berry Amendment

By Staff -- Home Textiles Today, 1/2/2006 12:00:00 AM

Washington — —

Washington —Congress has approved a requirement strengthening the Berry Amendment, a law that requires the Department of Defense to purchase only domestic-made clothing, textiles and individual equipment. It also requires the Department of Defense to notify Congress within seven days if contracts are awarded to non-U.S. suppliers.

Representative Robin Hayes of North Carolina inserted the requirements into the 2006 Defense Authorization legislation to affect all clothing, textiles and individual equipment purchased by the Department. The amendment directly affects the Defense Supply Center Philadelphia, the Department's largest clothing and textile procuring facility that purchased roughly $2.5 billion worth of these items in fiscal 2005. The provision also affects purchases by all other Department of Defense activities, regardless of size.

“This amendment strengthens our supply system and ensures that our soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines have the best equipment available,” said Dan Pezold of Duro Industries, chairman of the National Textile Association's Government Textiles Committee.

NTA President Karl Spilhaus added, “This new requirement will enable us to follow closely those contracts that have been awarded outside the strict provisions of the Berry Amendment, which has been in place for more than half a century.”