Sherrod’s Bill To Ensure American Flags Are American Made Heads To President’s Desk

COLUMBUS, OH – Last week, the U.S. House passed Sherrod’s All-American Flag Act to ensure American flags purchased by the government are entirely made in America. Sherrod led the years-long fight to pass the legislation to ensure the symbol of our nation is made by American workers with American-made materials.

Here’s what Ohioans are reading / watching about Sherrod’s years-long fight:

Tribune Chronicle: American flag bill to be signed into law
David Skolnick – July 24, 2024

• U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown’s bill to require the federal government to only buy American flags completely produced and manufactured in this country will be signed shortly into law by the president after the U.S. House approved it by a voice vote.
• “American flags should be made in America, period,” said Brown, D-Cleveland.
• “Now because of our years of effort to pass this bill, American flags the federal government buys will be produced and manufactured in America by American workers. The president needs to sign this bill into law without delay.”
• Brown first introduced the legislation in 2011. The bill that passed Congress was introduced June 14, 2023, with Brown as the lead sponsor.
• The bill requires the government to buy flags produced entirely with American-made materials and manufactured completely in the United States.

WTOL: Ohio US Sen. Sherrod Brown’s bill requiring American flags be made in the U.S. heads to president’s desk
Troy Gingerich – July 23, 2024

• U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, announced that a bill requiring American flags to be made in America is heading to President Biden’s desk to be signed into law.
• The All-American Flag Act passed the House of Representatives Monday evening. The bill would require the federal government to only buy American flags completely produced and manufactured in the United States.
• The legislation was passed in the Senate unanimously in November 2023 after the bill passed with a bipartisan vote out of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, Brown’s office said.
• According to Brown’s office, the federal government currently is only required to buy flags that contain 50% American-made materials. The legislation would require the federal government to purchase flags that are produced entirely with American-made materials and manufactured completely in the U.S.
• Brown’s office said according to the U.S. Department of Commerce and U.S. Census Data, the dollar value of U.S. imports of American flags in 2015 was $4.4 million. Of that, $4 million of imported flags came from China. In 2017, the U.S. imported 10 million American flags with all but 50,000 coming from China.

Associated Press: American flags should be born in the USA now, too, Congress says
Patrick Whittle – July 29, 2024

• 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.
• 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.
• 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.

WTRF: New legislation requires federal agencies to purchase only American-made flags
Jake McGlumphy – July 28, 2024

• U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown of Ohio recently announced that his bipartisan All-American Flag Act passed the House of Representatives and was sent to the President’s desk.
• Right now, the federal government is only required to purchase flags that contain 50 percent of American-made materials.
• “It’s insane to me that American flags that fly over post offices, over military bases, and sometimes that even tragically cover a coffin brought back into Dover Air Base aren’t made entirely by American workers. This is a case this is a small example, but a case where we say no, American flags flying over federal facilities should absolutely 100% be made in America by American workers,” [said Sherrod Brown].

The Bryan Times: Flag bill goes to president
Lucas Bechtol – July 29, 2024

• Soon, all U.S. flags flown on federal property will be 100% American made.
• The All-American Flag Act, sponsored in part by Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH), has passed through Congress and is now awaiting President Joe Biden’s signature to become law.
• “It’s bothered me for a long time that flags at military bases are sometimes made in China,” Brown said recently. “(The bill is) more than symbolic because Americans expect things like the flag, of all things, to be made by American workers… There’s no reason this shouldn’t have passed before. We finally got it through Congress and it’s one of my proudest accomplishments because it’s symbolic but more than that. It’s jobs and symbolism about our country.”
• Once this new law is signed, federal funds may not be used to purchase a flag unless the flag has been 100% manufactured in the U.S. from supplies produced in the country.
• Brown introduced the act with Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME).
• “American flags should be made in America, period,” Brown said. “Now, because of our years of effort to pass this bill, American flags the federal government buys will be produced and manufactured in America, by American workers. The President needs to sign this bill into law without delay.”

WTOV: Sherrod Passes Bipartisan All-American Flag Act

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