[Senate Report 118-94]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
Calendar No. 197
118th Congress} { Report
SENATE
1st Session } { 118-94
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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
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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.
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\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/).
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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.
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\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).
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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.
* * * * * * *
[all]