Press Release
Posted:
Washington – Today, Rep. Mike Thompson (CA-04) and Rep. Claudia Tenney (NY-24) announced that they got signed into law the requirement that American flags purchased by the Department of Defense are made in America by American workers and use American-grown and manufactured materials.
“The American flag is the greatest symbol of freedom in the world, and it represents the hard-fought battles by American servicemembers who made tremendous sacrifices to protect our nation,” said Thompson. “Every American flag purchased by the Department of Defense should be made by American workers in the United States with American materials. I am proud to have gotten this requirement signed into law.”
“American Flags flown over our military installations, carried into battle, and draped over the caskets of our servicemembers who have made the ultimate sacrifice should be made in the land they so valiantly defend,” said Congresswoman Tenney. “The United States should never contribute to offshoring jobs, especially when it comes to purchasing American flags. I am thrilled our bipartisan amendment was included in the FY24 NDAA to ensure that only American flags made in the USA are purchased by the DOD. I will always fight to support American manufacturers and workers, and the domestic production of critical goods, including American flags.”
“North Bay Industries is very proud to be part of this bill that ensures that every military member receives an American Flag that is made from materials grown and created in America. Thank you to Congressman Thompson and his team for pushing such an important bill for our service men and women,” said North Bay Industries CEO Robert Hutt.
North Bay Industries, a local business in Rohnert Park, manufactures American flags that are used by the Department of Veterans Affairs and other organizations across our country. CEO Robert Hutt asked Rep. Thompson to introduced legislation to require that flags must be wholly produced in the United States from material wholly grown, created, and assembled in the United States.
The Fiscal Year 2024 National Defense Authorization Act became law on December 22, 2023. The full report can be found here with Rep. Thompson’s provision found on page 251.