Industry coalition strengthens Berry Amendment

The Berry Amendment Textile Coalition (BATC), funded by the U.S. Industrial Fabrics Institute (USIFI), worked closely with U.S. Senator Kay Hagan (D-NC), Congressman Walter Jones (R-NC) and Congressman Mike McIntyre (D-NC) to beef up the Berry Amendment. The Berry Amendment requires the Department of Defense (DOD) to procure certain items, including textiles and clothing, made with 100 percent U.S. content and labor. In the FY 2014 National Defense Authorization Act, new statutory language will require periodic audits by the DOD Inspector General on Berry Amendment compliance, which will encourage more robust compliance; the DOD Inspector General has not conducted an audit on compliance since 2002. Senator Hagan also persuaded the Senate Armed Services Committee to include a requirement for a publicly released report on the Berry Amendment in 2014, keeping attention focused on compliance while the more complex statutory auditing process is undertaken.