Congress is fighting over shoes.
The House-passed National Defense Authorization Act contains language called the “New Balance provision,” which modifies the Berry Amendment, part of a 1941 law that mandates that military supplies be manufactured in the U.S. Presently, the DoD has waived the Berry Amendment as it applies to running shoes, allowing members of the armed forces to use a cash stipend to purchase shoes of their choice.
Representatives Niki Tsongas (D-MA) and Bruce Poliquin (R-ME) don’t think that’s good policy.
Which is why their bill, included as part of the House-passed NDAA, mandates that the military “…shall furnish such footwear directly to the members instead of providing a cash allowance to the members for the purchase of such footwear.” It also removes the ability of the DoD to waive the Berry Amendment for running shoes, unless the shoes are “medically required to meet unique physiological needs of the member.”
Unlike the vast majority of U.S. shoe companies, New Balance does produce some shoes—albeit a small percentage of them—here in the states. And it should not surprise many to learn that Rep. Tsongas and Rep. Poliquin represent some of the few districts that contain New Balance manufacturing facilities.
Leading the charge to stop the “New Balance provision” from taking effect is South Carolina’s Mark Sanford. His “Freedom in Footwear” amendment will be voted on this week, as a part of a separate bill: the Department of Defense Appropriations Act of 2017. If passed, his provision would withhold the money that would allow the New Balance provision from taking effect, should it become law as part of NDAA.
Sanford argues allowing Tsongas and Poliquin to succeed with their “de facto earmark” is not only bad policy, in that it dramatically limits choice for new recruits, but that it has real costs for the military and its soldiers:
Sanford’s amendment is slated to get a vote in the coming days. Pass or fail, the House and Senate have to reconcile their competing versions of the NDAA. And one thing they’ll be deciding is the fate of soldiers’ feet.
Conor Beck is an intern at The Weekly Standard.
