[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 129 (Thursday, September 23, 2010)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1736]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         ALL-AMERICAN FLAG ACT

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                          HON. BRUCE L. BRALEY

                                of iowa

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, September 23, 2010

  Mr. BRALEY of Iowa. Madam Speaker, I'm proud to rise in strong 
support of my legislation, the All-American Flag Act. I strongly 
believe that our American flags should be made in the U.S.A. with 
American products.
  Currently, Federal law does require that American flags purchased and 
used by the government are partially American made. That is, the law 
only requires that at least 50 percent of the materials used to make 
the flag are American made. I strongly believe that this is a 
hypocritical use of our taxpayer dollars, especially when the majority 
of American flags that are imported into the United States come from 
China.
  According to Commerce and Census Data, in 2009, the dollar value of 
flags imported to the United States was $3 million. Of that total, $2.5 
million of imported flags came from China.
  The Federal Government should not be buying American flags that are 
manufactured in countries such as China. This is why I introduced the 
All-American Flag Act.
  My legislation would simply require that any United States flags 
acquired for use by the Federal Government be entirely manufactured in 
the United States. This is a simple fix that ensures American flags are 
not foreign-made.
  I urge my colleagues to support my All-American Flag Act and look 
forward to seeing it pass on the House floor.

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