Claudia Tenney
Rep. Claudia Tenney

Tenney introduces amendment to restore Buy America provisions

Tenney’s Amendment to NDAA Would Restore Stainless Steel Flatware Requirement

Congresswoman Claudia Tenney (NY-22) submitted an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act to restore the Berry Amendment’s longstanding domestic sourcing requirement for stainless steel flatware.

“American taxpayers overwhelmingly support having their hard-earned tax dollars go to American companies, so long as doing so does not raise the costs of business or unnecessarily burden government operations. Reinstating the Berry Amendment’s stainless steel domestic sourcing requirement will provide our service members with high-quality, fair and reasonably priced Made in America flatware while providing a no-cost boost to local manufacturing and small businesses across the country,” said Tenney. “Our district is the proud home to Sherrill Manufacturing, the only flatware manufacturer producing 100 percent Made in America flatware. This amendment will support American manufacturing, while creating new opportunities for domestic manufacturers to compete in a rebounding industry.”

From 1976-2006, the Berry Amendment included a domestic sourcing requirement for stainless steel flatware, which was eliminated in 2007 due to a lack of domestic supply. The Berry Amendment’s domestic sourcing requirement for stainless steel flatware should be restored given the availability of reasonably priced flatware produced by a domestic company with a stable supply chain and track record of selling to the federal government. Sherrill Manufacturing, located in the 22nd District, is currently the only domestic flatware manufacturer in operation.

Additionally, the DoD can waive this requirement and is not locked in to purchasing domestic if doing so raises costs. The amendment maintains all existing cost and quality waivers. This means that if the quality, quantity available, or cost of Sherrill’s products were to change, this amendment retains DoD’s ability to waive the requirement and opt to purchase flatware from other sources.

This amendment would also benefit a range of US companies that feed into Sherrill’s supply chain. Sherrill’s supply chain extends throughout the country, touching nearly 100 companies in more than five states including American stainless steel sourced from Ohio.

By martha

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