Soon, Old Glory will have to be born in the land of the free and not merely flying over it.
Congress has passed a proposal to require the federal government to purchase only American flags that have been completely manufactured in the U.S. The U.S. imports millions of American flags from overseas, mostly from China, and the sponsors of the proposal said it's time for American flags to originate in the country they represent. President Joe Biden signed the bill into law on Tuesday.
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Supporters of the proposal, led by Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine and Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown of Ohio, said the change is more than just symbolic — they believe it will support American jobs and manufacturers while preserving the nation's most recognized banner.
Brown released the following statement after Biden signed the legislation:
"American flags — bought with American taxpayer dollars — should be made in America, period. And now they will be. Because of our years of effort, American flags bought by the federal government will be produced and manufactured in America, by American workers with American materials. The flags that fly over federal buildings and military bases will now be completely American made. And the flags given to families honoring their loved one’s service and sacrifice for our country will finally be completely made in America."
Federal rules currently require the government to buy flags that contain half U.S.-made materials, supporters of the proposal said. The rule change, called the "All-American Flag Act," requires government-purchased flags to be produced entirely with American-made materials as well as manufactured in the U.S.
The value of U.S. flag imports in 2015 was well over $4 million, according to federal data. The vast majority of those imports came from China, supporters of the rule change said.
In 2017, the U.S. imported some 10 million American flags, and 99.5% of them came from China, supporters of the proposal said. Those figures include all American flags imported into the country and not just those purchased by the federal government.
Collins and Brown have been pushing for American flags to be manufactured in the U.S. for several years. Previous efforts to change the rules to require U.S.-made flags found success in the U.S. Senate but stalled when they reached the House of Representatives.
