[Senate Report 117-240]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


                                                      Calendar No. 614
117th Congress     }                                    {       Report
                                 SENATE
 2d Session        }                                    {      117-240 
_______________________________________________________________________

                                     



                         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. 4399

              TO REQUIRE THE PURCHASE OF DOMESTICALLY MADE
             FLAGS OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA FOR USE
                       BY THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT










[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]









               December 12, 2022.--Ordered to be printed 
                             _________
                              
                 U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
                 
39-010                   WASHINGTON : 2023
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
               
        COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS

                   GARY C. PETERS, Michigan, Chairman
THOMAS R. CARPER, Delaware           ROB PORTMAN, Ohio
MAGGIE HASSAN, New Hampshire         RON JOHNSON, Wisconsin
KYRSTEN SINEMA, Arizona              RAND PAUL, Kentucky
JACKY ROSEN, Nevada                  JAMES LANKFORD, Oklahoma
ALEX PADILLA, California             MITT ROMNEY, Utah
JON OSSOFF, Georgia                  RICK SCOTT, Florida
                                     JOSH HAWLEY, Missouri

                   David M. Weinberg, Staff Director
                    Zachary I. Schram, Chief Counsel
                  Evan E. Freeman, Research Assistant
                Pamela Thiessen, Minority Staff Director
            Sam J. Mulopulos, Minority Deputy Staff Director
       Jeremy H. Hayes, Minority Senior Professional Staff Member
                     Laura W. Kilbride, Chief Clerk  
                     
                     
                     
                     
                     
                     
                     
                     
                     
                     
                     
                     
                     
                     
                     
                     
                     
                     
                                                      Calendar No. 614
117th Congress     }                                    {       Report
                                 SENATE
 2d Session        }                                    {      117-240

======================================================================



 
                         ALL-AMERICAN FLAG ACT

                                _______
                                

               December 12, 2022.--Ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

 Mr. Peters, from the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental 
                    Affairs, submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

                         [To accompany S. 4399]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

    The Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental 
Affairs, to which was referred the bill (S. 4399) to require 
the purchase of domestically made flags of the United States of 
America for use by the Federal Government, having considered 
the same reports favorably thereon without amendment and 
recommends that the bill do pass.

                                CONTENTS

                                                                     Page
  I.  Purpose and Summary.............................................  1
 II.  Background and Need for the Legislation.........................  2
III.  Legislative History.............................................  2
 IV.  Section-by-Section Analysis of the Bill, as Reported............  2
  V.  Evaluation of Regulatory Impact.................................  3
 VI.  Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate.......................  3
VII.  Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported...........  6

                         I. Purpose and Summary

    S. 4399, the All-American Flag Act, prohibits agencies from 
using funds to procure a United States flag unless such flag 
has been manufactured in the United States from materials 
grown, produced, or manufactured domestically. The bill 
specifies exceptions to this prohibition, including an 
exception if flags of satisfactory quality and sufficient 
quantity cannot be procured as needed at market prices.

              II. Background and Need for the Legislation

    According to the Department of Commerce and Census data, in 
2015, the dollar value of United States imports of American 
flags was $4.4 million. Of that amount, $4 million worth of 
flags were imported from China.\1\ The United States Government 
should, whenever possible, procure goods, products, and 
materials--especially those that are representative of our 
nation, such as our flag--from sources that will help American 
businesses compete and help American workers thrive.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \1\Census Bureau Releases Key Statistics in Honor of Independence 
Day, Digital.gov (blog) (Jul. 5, 2016), (https://digital.gov/2016/07/
05/census-bureau-releases-key-statistics-in-honor-of-independence-day/
).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Currently, the federal government is required to buy flags 
that contain at least 60 percent American-made materials.\2\ S. 
4399 would expand this requirement to ensure that United States 
flags procured by the federal government are produced entirely 
with American-made materials and manufactured completely in the 
United States.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \2\Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, Pub. L. No. 117-58, 
Title IX (2021); see also Exec. Order No. 14005, 86 Fed. Reg. 7475 
(Jan. 25, 2021).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

                        III. Legislative History

    Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) introduced S. 4399 on June 14, 
2022 with Senator Susan Collins (R-ME), Senator Joe Manchin (D-
WV), and Senator Rick Scott (R-FL) as cosponsors. The bill was 
referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental 
Affairs.
    The Committee considered S. 4399 at a business meeting on 
September 28, 2022. During the business meeting, S. 4399 was 
ordered reported favorably by voice vote en bloc. Senators 
Peters, Carper, Hassan, Sinema, Rosen, Padilla, Ossoff, 
Portman, Johnson, Paul, Lankford, Romney, Scott, and Hawley 
were present for the vote.

        IV. Section-by-Section Analysis of the Bill, as Reported


Section 1. Short title

    This section designates the name of the bill as the ``All-
American Flag Act.''

Section 2. Requirement for agencies to buy domestically made United 
        States flags

    Subsection (a)(1) adds a new section to the end of Chapter 
63 of title 41 of the United States Code. This new section--
section 6310--requires that funds appropriated or otherwise 
available to an agency may not be used for the procurement of 
any United States flag unless the flag has been wholly 
manufactured in the United States from materials grown, 
procured, or manufactured in the United States.
    Section 6310 provides for certain exceptions to this 
requirement, including for the procurement of United States 
flags by vessels in foreign waters, for resale purposes in 
military commissaries and exchanges, and for amounts less than 
the simplified acquisition threshold. There is also an 
exception for availability reasons, if the head of the agency 
concerned determines that satisfactory quality and sufficient 
quantity of a flag cannot be procured as needed at market 
prices.
    Section 6310 also provides for a Presidential waiver if the 
President determines one necessary to comply with any trade 
agreement to which the United States is a party. Finally, 
section 6310 defines the terms ``agency'' and ``simplified 
acquisition threshold'' for the purposes of this bill.
    Subsection (a)(2) amends the table of sections at the 
beginning of Chapter 63 to include section 6310.
    Subsection (b) provides that the requirements of this bill 
shall become applicable beginning 180 days after the bill's 
enactment.

                   V. 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 of this bill and determined 
that the bill will have no regulatory impact within the meaning 
of the rules. The Committee agrees with the Congressional 
Budget Office's statement 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.

             VI. Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate

                                     U.S. Congress,
                               Congressional Budget Office,
                                  Washington, DC, November 9, 2022.
Hon. Gary C. Peters,
Chairman, Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs,
U.S. Senate, Washington, DC.
    Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has 
prepared the enclosed table summarizing estimated budgetary 
effects and mandates information for some of the legislation 
that has been ordered reported by the Senate Committee on 
Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs during the 117th 
Congress.
    If you wish further details, we will be pleased to provide 
them. The CBO staff contact for each estimate is listed on the 
enclosed table.
            Sincerely,
                                         Phillip L. Swagel,
                                                          Director.
    Enclosure.

           SUMMARY ESTIMATES OF LEGISLATION ORDERED REPORTED

    The Congressional Budget Act of 1974 requires the 
Congressional Budget Office, to the extent practicable, to 
prepare estimates of the budgetary effects of legislation 
ordered reported by Congressional authorizing committees. In 
order to provide the Congress with as much information as 
possible, the attached table summarizes information about the 
estimated direct spending and revenue effects of some of the 
legislation that has been ordered reported by the Senate 
Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs during 
the 117th Congress. The legislation listed in this table 
generally would have small effects, if any, on direct spending 
or revenues, CBO estimates. Where possible, the table also 
provides information about the legislation's estimated effects 
on spending subject to appropriation and on intergovernmental 
and private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates 
Reform Act.

                                                                      ESTIMATED BUDGETARY EFFECTS AND MANDATES INFORMATION
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                                                                                           Increases On-
                                                                                                                          Spending Subject  Pay-As-You-Go     Budget
   Bill          Title         Status        Last Action       Budget Function    Direct Spending,     Revenues, 2023-   to Appropriation,    Procedures     Deficits      Mandates     Contact
  Number                                                                              2023-2032             2032             2023-2027          Apply?     Beginning in
                                                                                                                                                               2033?
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
S. 4399     All-American    Ordered               09/28/22                 800    Between zero and                   0   Between zero and   Yes            No            No           Matthew
             Flag Act        reported                                                     $500,000                        $500,000                                                     Pickford
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
S. 4399 would require federal agencies, with certain exceptions, to purchase United States flags that are sourced and produced domestically. CBO estimates that enacting S. 4399 would have an
  insignificant effect on direct spending and no effect on revenues over the 2023-2032 period. CBO estimates that implementing the bill would increase discretionary costs by an insignificant
  amount over the 2023-2027 period; any spending would be subject to the availability of appropriated funds. The bill contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the
  Unfunded Mandates Reform Act.

       VII. Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported

    In compliance with paragraph 12 of rule XXVI of the 
Standing Rules of the Senate, changes in existing law made by 
the bill, as reported, are shown as follows: (existing law 
proposed to be omitted is enclosed in brackets, new matter is 
printed in italic, and existing law in which no change is 
proposed is shown in roman):

UNITED STATES CODE

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


TITLE 41--PUBLIC CONTRACTS

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


CHAPTER 63--GENERAL CONTRACT PROVISIONS

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


TABLE OF CONTENTS
Sec.
6301. Authorization requirement
6310. Requirement for agencies to buy domestically made United 
    States flags
     * * * * * * *

SEC. 6309. HONORABLE DISCHARGE CERTIFICATE IN LIEU OF BIRTH CERTIFICATE

    (a) * * *
    (b) * * *

SEC. 6310. REQUIREMENT FOR AGENCIES TO BUY DOMESTICALLY MADE UNITED 
                    STATES FLAGS

    (a) Requirement.--Except as provided in subsections (b) 
through (d), funds appropriated or otherwise available to an 
agency may not be used for the procurement of any flag of the 
United States, unless such flag has been 100 percent 
manufactured in the United States from articles, materials, or 
supplies that have been grown or 100 percent produced or 
manufactured in the United States.
    (b) Availability Exception.--Subsection (a) does not apply 
to the extent that the head of the agency concerned determines 
that satisfactory quality and sufficient quantity of a flag 
described in such subsection cannot be procured as and when 
needed at United States market prices.
    (c) Exception for Certain Procurements.--Subsection (a) 
does not apply to the following:
          (1) Procurements by vessels in foreign waters.
          (2) Procurements for resale purposes in any military 
        commissary, military exchange, or non-appropriated fund 
        instrumentality operated by an agency.
          (3) Procurements for amounts less than the simplified 
        acquisition threshold.
    (d) Presidential Waiver.--
          (1) In general.--The President may waive the 
        requirement in subsection (a) if the President 
        determines a waiver is necessary to comply with any 
        trade agreement to which the United States is a party.
          (2) Notice of waiver.--Not later than 30 days after 
        granting a waiver under paragraph (1), the President 
        shall publish a notice of the waiver in the Federal 
        Register.
    (e) Definitions.--In this section:
          (1) Agency.--The term `agency' has the meaning given 
        the term `executive agency' in section 102 of title 40.
          (2) Simplified acquisition threshold.--The term 
        `simplified acquisition threshold' has the meaning 
        given that term in section 134.

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


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