Representatives Chellie Pingree and Bruce Poliqiuin were joined by a number of their colleagues to push the Department of Defense to streamline the approval process for American-made athletic footwear for U.S. military personnel. At issue is testing of athletic shoes provided to recruits at basic training and procured under the Berry Amendment, a regulation that requires that clothing and footwear for military personnel be made in America.
U.S. military personnel are given a cash allowance to buy athletic footwear, but previously there hadn't been any attempt to make sure the footwear purchased was American made. Pingree, Poliquin and their colleagues have been pushing to require that those purchases be of American made products, like the athletic shoes made by New Balance at factories in Maine and throughout New England. But first, Pentagon officials have to test and approve the footwear.
Pingree and Poliquin, along with 9 of their colleagues, have urged Under Secretary of Defense Frank Kendall to ensure Berry-compliant footwear wear-tests are done more efficiently and given priority over non-Berry complaint footwear where possible. As of now, Berry-compliant footwear is being tested one model at a time, with a 90-dayperiod for each time, pushing the process back by many months.
In a letter to Kendell, Pingree and Poliquin wrote, “We…request that DoD adjust its testing procedures to maximize efficiency, reduce delays, and ensure that Berry-compliant footwear evaluations are given priority over non-Berry-compliant footwear.”
