[Senate Report 118-94]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


                                                  Calendar No. 197

118th Congress}                                           { Report
                                 SENATE
  1st Session }                                           { 118-94

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

                         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. 1973

         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]


               September 5, 2023.--Ordered to be printed
               
                                __________

                                
                    U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE                    
                            WASHINGTON : 2023                    
          
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------                
              
        COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS

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

                   David M. Weinberg, Staff Director
            Lena C. Chang, Director of Governmental Affairs
                  Michelle M. Benecke, Senior Counsel
                        Evan E. Freeman, Counsel
           William E. Henderson III, Minority Staff Director
              Christina N. Salazar, Minority Chief Counsel
                  Andrew J. Hopkins, Minority Counsel
                     Laura W. Kilbride, Chief Clerk
                     
                     
                     

                                                  Calendar No. 197

118th Congress}                                           { Report
                                 SENATE
  1st Session }                                           { 118-94

======================================================================
 
                         ALL-AMERICAN FLAG ACT                     
                     
                               _______
                                

               September 5, 2023.--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. 1973]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

    The Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental 
Affairs, to which was referred the bill (S. 1973), 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 with an amendment and 
recommends that the bill, as amended, 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.............3
  V. Evaluation of Regulatory Impact..................................3
 VI. Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate........................4
VII. Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported............4

                         I. Purpose and Summary

    S. 1973, the All-American Flag Act, prohibits agencies from 
using funds to procure a United States flag unless the 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 data compiled and published by the U.S. Census 
Bureau, Economic Indicators Division, the dollar value of U.S. 
imports of American flags (United States flags) was $6.5 
million in 2022 and $4.4 million in 2023 (through June 2023). 
Imports of United States flags almost exclusively come from 
China; the United States imported 93% ($6 million) of United 
States flags from China in 2022 and 95% ($4.2 million) of 
United States flags from China through June 2023.\1\ While 
several state laws--including in Arizona, Florida, Tennessee, 
Maryland, Massachusetts, and Wisconsin--require states to 
purchase flags from U.S. manufacturers, no federal law requires 
the government to only purchase flags that are fully 
manufactured in the United States.\2\ This bill would prevent 
the government from procuring United States flags produced in 
other countries, including China. As a result, this bill would 
ensure all United States flags used by the federal government--
such as flags for veteran burials and those flying above 
federal buildings--are American-made.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \1\U.S. Census Bureau, USA Trade Online (6307909825--National Flags 
of the United States) (https://usatrade.census.gov/).
    \2\Raising the American Flag Made in China, The Atlantic (July 3, 
2018) (https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2018/07/raising-
the-american-flag-made-in-china/564293/).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Currently, the federal government is required to buy flags 
that contain at least 60% American-made materials.\3\ S. 1973 
would expand this requirement to ensure that United States 
flags procured by the federal government are produced entirely 
with American-made or grown materials and manufactured 
completely in the United States.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \3\Exec. Order No. 14005, 86 Fed. Reg. 7475 (Jan. 25, 2021); see 
also Federal Acquisition Regulation: Amendments to the FAR Buy American 
Act Requirements, 87 Fed. Reg. 12780 (Mar. 7, 2022).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

                        III. Legislative History

    Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) introduced S. 1973 on June 14, 
2023 with original cosponsors Senator Gary Peters (D-MI), 
Senator Susan Collins (R-ME), and Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV). 
Senator Roger Marshall (R-KS) joined as a cosponsor on July 18, 
2023. The bill was referred to the Committee on Homeland 
Security and Governmental Affairs.
    The Committee considered S. 1973 at a business meeting on 
July 26, 2023. At the business meeting, Senator Paul offered an 
amendment to the bill. The amendment struck section (c) from 
the proposed new legislative text, which would have required 
each manufacturer of a United States flag to maintain records 
related to the source of the materials and supplies used to 
make their flags for a period of five years. The Committee 
adopted the Paul amendment by voice vote, with Senators Peters, 
Hassan, Sinema, Rosen, Ossoff, Paul, Lankford, and Scott 
present. The bill, as amended by the Paul amendment, was 
ordered reported favorably by roll call vote of 8 yeas to 0 
nays, with Senators Peters, Hassan, Sinema, Rosen, Ossoff, 
Paul, Lankford, and Scott voting in the affirmative. Senators 
Carper, Padilla, Blumenthal, Romney, Hawley, and Marshall voted 
yea by proxy, for the record only, and Senator Johnson voted 
nay by proxy, for the record only.

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


Section 1. Short title

    This section establishes the short title 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, 
produced, 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 a waiver is 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 
will 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

[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]


    S. 1973 would amend federal law to require, with certain 
exceptions, that all U.S. flags acquired by the federal 
government be manufactured in the United States from materials 
grown, produced, or manufactured domestically.
    Using information from the General Services Administration 
and flag vendors, CBO expects that many vendors already meet 
the bill's requirements. CBO estimates that the costs of 
implementing S. 1973 would be insignificant; any spending would 
be subject to the availability of appropriated funds.
    Enacting S. 1973 could affect direct spending by some 
agencies that are allowed to use fees, receipts from the sale 
of goods, and other collections to cover operating costs. CBO 
estimates that any net changes in direct spending by those 
agencies would be negligible because most of them can adjust 
amounts collected to reflect changes in operating costs.
    The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Matthew 
Pickford. The estimate was reviewed by Chad Chirico, Director 
of Budget Analysis.
                                         Phillip L. Swagel,
                             Director, Congressional Budget Office.

       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

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


Subtitle II--Other Advertising and Contract Provisions

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


CHAPTER 63--GENERAL CONTRACT PROVISIONS

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


Table of sections
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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