The Congressional Record is a unique source of public documentation. It started in 1873, documenting nearly all the major and minor policies being discussed and debated.
“ALL-AMERICAN FLAG ACT” mentioning the U.S. Dept of Labor was published in the Senate section on pages S4968-S4970 on July 27, 2011.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
ALL-AMERICAN FLAG ACT
Mr. BROWN of Ohio. Mr. President, I rise to discuss legislation called the All-American Flag Act of 2011 and make some comments about what has happened to American manufacturing and how this is a small step but an important step in beginning to convince this body that
``Made in America'' is something we should focus on, that a manufacturing strategy from the White House is something they should focus on, and that putting people back to work to make things in America again is the right strategy to pull us out of a recession.
The Labor Department's most recent jobs report confirmed what workers in my State are already aware of--that employers are still not hiring. Workers who have jobs are seeing smaller paychecks, and they are barely keeping up with bills and insurance costs.
In too many cases, soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan are facing even greater challenges in the labor market. I was at Youngstown State University recently talking about the specific programs there. In Cleveland, through MAGNET--a group called MAGNET in Youngstown and in northeast Ohio is helping soldiers and sailors and marines leaving the service, integrating into the classroom, and helping them find jobs in that region--someplace we have fallen woefully short.
Manufacturing, which was moving along steadily earlier this year--we had seen 12, 13, 14, 15 months of job growth in manufacturing, not enough job growth but some--that is even slowing down. Steps that were taken through the auto rescue and other things we did in the last couple of years dealing with this terrible recession created in 2007 and 2008--the auto rescue and other efforts saved millions of Americans from joining the unemployment rolls. We are seeing a better auto industry, an auto industry coming back, especially in places such as Defiance and Toledo and Northwood and Cleveland and Lawrenceville, OH. But the challenges remain severe.
Like many in this Chamber, I believe manufacturing is the key not only to our economic recovery but to the strength and vitality of our Nation. To many, manufacturing is also a ticket to the American middle class.
In the last 12 years, we have witnessed the closure of more than 54,000 factories in the United States. Last year, we lost 8,000. That is 5,400 factories per year, 15 per day in the last 12 years. The manufacturing sector, since the beginning of the Bush administration, 2001, has lost 5 million jobs. Only 11.5 million people are employed in manufacturing jobs now. The last time it was that low was in 1941, before the country scaled up for production for World War II.
When Members of this body talk about the need to support manufacturing, others will say that is ``picking winners and losers'' and that ``the government has no role in helping manufacturing.'' First of all, that makes no sense, but second, I have heard all those before. I think the government already has picked winners and made choices. Manufacturing in the early 1980s exceeded 25 percent of our GDP. Now it is only 11 percent of our GDP. Over that same time period--financial services back 30 years ago was about 11 percent of our GDP, and now they are about 21 percent. So a government that put way too much focus on and interest in and support for financial services at the expense of manufacturing has clearly cost us far too many middle-class jobs.
It is a result of tax policy; it is a result of not investing in innovation; it is a result of the China PNTR, the permanent normal trade relations; it is a result of NAFTA; and it is a result of not enforcing our trade laws. There is blame to go around, but the blame will not create a job that a former autoworker in Youngstown or a rubber worker in Akron or a chemical worker in Columbus or a steelworker outside Cincinnati--that will not create a job they are looking for, nor reduce the rising cost for them of food and gas and shelter.
I urge my colleagues to consider taking big steps, not just slight changes at the margin, in rebuilding our manufacturing base and rebuilding the middle class. Those steps include rebalancing our economic policies, reinvesting in education, reinvesting--putting real support into workforce training, and enforcing trade laws that increase our exports and reinforce trade, three examples of enforcing trade laws that happened in the last couple of years, thanks in part to a more aggressive Obama administration finally on trade law. We have seen hundreds of jobs created in Lorain, OH; in Youngstown, OH, because of enforcement of trade laws on Oil Country Tubular Steel. We have seen rubber worker jobs, tire manufacturing jobs created in Finley, OH, because of enforcement of international trade law. We have seen coated paper jobs, paper manufacturing jobs in Butler County, OH, again, because of an aggressive Federal policy about enforcing trade law, but we don't see enough of that.
There are other steps more modest but demonstrate a commitment to our manufacturing sector--one step requiring the Federal Government when purchasing flags to purchase only those flags 100 percent American made. That sounds fairly amazing that they are not made in America today. It sounds fairly amazing that would make much difference but really it does.
Currently, Federal law requires that American flags purchased by the U.S. Government contain a minimum of 50 percent American-made products or components. So the U.S. Department of Defense, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security or the U.S. Capitol buys the American flags and under law they only need to be 50 percent made in the United States of America. These are American flags. This legislation we will offer today, which has the support of Senator Rockefeller, a Democrat from West Virginia, Senator Collins, a Republican from Maine, Senator Sanders, an Independent from Vermont, have joined me as cosponsors. It honors our country by ensuring American flags flown over government buildings are actually American flags.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the value of imported American flags to the United States was $3.2 million with $2.8 million coming from China. When I think about all of the production in China, I often think about young workers--and when I say young workers, I mean young workers in China--who make things people in the United States buy. I have to think Chinese workers, if they think about this while they are working, must be a bit amused that they are making American flags in China and selling them to us. They must think what kind of country is this that doesn't make their own flags. It just occurred to me that would be amusing if it weren't somewhat tragic.
The Congressional Research Service said there are at least eight all-
American flag manufacturers in the United States. There are eight companies that can do this. This isn't a question of rare Earth materials that we can't get enough of. I know the Senator from Colorado has been interested in that issue, the Presiding Officer.
The increased demand for made in the U.S.A. flags will lead to more jobs. Thanks to this legislation we will have more production.
In a time when we face economic hardship, it is critical to invest in the manufacturing base. There is no product that deserves a U.S.A. label more than American flags. Manufacturing built a strong middle class. When you think of the combination of large-scale manufacturing of all kinds of products and collective bargaining laws that let people come together and bargain and negotiate collectively, it clearly is the way we built the middle class in this country.
It is critical today that the government lead by example. That is why the Ohio Senate bill 5 is so important, the repeal of the repeal of collective bargaining. It is why manufacturing is so important.
This legislation today that I will bring up in a moment is a modest step towards building that manufacturing strategy, moving forward on made in America and a modest step towards enhancing and strengthening our manufacturing base.
Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Homeland Security Committee be discharged from further consideration of S. 1188 and that the Senate proceed to its consideration.
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Udall of Colorado). Without objection, it is so ordered.
The clerk will report the bill by title.
The legislative clerk read as follows:
A bill (S. 1188) to require the purchase of domestically made flags of the United States of America for use by the Federal Government.
There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the bill.
Mr. BROWN of Ohio. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Brown of Ohio substitute amendment at the desk, which we just discussed, be agreed to, the bill, as amended, be read a third time and passed, the motions to reconsider be laid upon the table, with no intervening action or debate, and any statements related to the bill be printed in the Record.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
The amendment (No. 587) was agreed to, as follows:
(Purpose: In the nature of a substitute)
Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the following:
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``All-American Flag Act''.
SEC. 2. REQUIREMENT FOR PURCHASE OF DOMESTICALLY MADE UNITED
STATES FLAGS FOR USE BY FEDERAL GOVERNMENT.
(a) In General.--Except as provided under subsection (b), only such flags of the United States of America, regardless of size, that are 100 percent manufactured in the United States, from articles, materials, or supplies 100 percent of which are grown, produced, or manufactured in the United States, may be acquired for use by the Federal Government.
(b) Waiver.--The head of an executive agency may waive the requirement under subsection (a) on a case-by-case basis upon a determination that--
(1) the application of the limitation would cause unreasonable costs or delays to be incurred; or
(2) application of the limitation would adversely affect a United States company.
(c) Amendment of Federal Acquisition Regulation.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council established under section 1302 of title 41, United States Code, shall amend the Federal Acquisition Regulation to implement this section.
(d) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Executive agency.--The term ``executive agency'' has the meaning given the term in section 133 of title 41, United States Code.
(2) Federal acquisition regulation.--The term ``Federal Acquisition Regulation'' has the meaning given the term in section 106 of title 41, United States Code.
SEC. 3. EFFECTIVE DATE.
Section 2 shall apply to purchases of flags made on or after 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act.
SEC. 4. CONSISTENCY WITH INTERNATIONAL AGREEMENTS.
This Act shall be applied in a manner consistent with United States obligations under international agreements.
The bill (S. 1188), as amended, was ordered to be engrossed for a third reading, was read the third time, and passed.
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