CRS INSIGHT
Athletic Footwear for the Military: The Berry
Amendment Controversy
June 10, 2016 (IN10501)
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Related Author
Michaela D. Platzer
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Michaela D. Platzer, Specialist in Industrial Organization and Business (mplatzer@crs.loc.gov, 7-5037)
The Berry Amendment
, a 1941 federal law (10 U.S.C. §2533a) requires the Department of Defense (DOD) to purchase
only wholly American-made clothing, textiles, and other essential items for the military (see CRS Report RL31236,
The Berry Amendment: Requiring Defense Procurement to Come from Domestic Sources). Some in Congress seek to
bring athletic footwear for new recruits under the Berry Amendment. Currently, most new recruits receive vouchers to
buy running shoes, which need not be domestic in origin. Provisions in the 2017 National Defense Authorization Act
(NDAA), of which one version (H.R. 4909) has passed the House and another version (S. 2943) is before the Senate,
would require DOD to purchase only athletic footwear made in the United States from domestic materials and
components for military recruits. This aspect of the NDAA has run into sharp criticism from some footwear
manufacturers, the Pentagon, and the Obama Administration.
Some Members of Congress, especially from the few states that still manufacture shoes, such as Maine and
Massachusetts, argue that the Berry Amendment's application to athletic shoes would bolster domestic footwear
manufacturing and preserve American jobs. Opponents contend that the change in policy would restrict choice; increase
costs to U.S. taxpayers; and possibly cause injury to military personnel by limiting their choice of running shoes. The
Obama Administration identified the inclusion of the domestic source requirements for footwear as one reason for a
potential presidential veto of the 2017 NDAA, stating, "only one company could benefit disproportionately from such
DOD purchasing requirements" and "mandating a specific article of clothing be provided to new recruits is
unprecedented."
Domestic Footwear Manufacturing
Assembling a running shoe may require as many as 20 parts, including the upper, which covers the top and sides of the
foot, the bottom part, which consists of the midsole and outsole, and other components such as shoelaces, eyelets, and
yarn for linings (see Figure 1). For decades, firms have been outsourcing the labor-intensive manufacturing process to
low-wage countries while retaining design, marketing, and distribution functions in high-wage countries, notably the
United States and Germany.
The United States accounts for less than 1% of the 24.3 billion pairs of shoes produced worldwide in 2014, while Asia
