CBS: New Balance's sneaker fight with Pentagon hits Congress
New Balance has taken its nearly decade-long fight with the Pentagon over the sale of athletic shoes to the halls of Congress, which is currently debating the annual appropriations bill that funds the Pentagon.
According to the Massachusetts-based company, defense officials are ignoring a little-known 1941 federal law called the Berry Amendment that requires the Pentagon to outfit members of the military in uniforms and other equipment that are "100 percent made in the U.S." The Pentagon has argued that it should be exempt from the law because it says New Balance shoes are too expensive and not durable enough. New Balance rejects those claims.
For the Massachusetts-based company, which has spent millions to comply with the Pentagon's requirements, the fight is a matter of principle over profit since it plans to sell the military 200,000 to 250,000 pairs of athletic shoes at cost, according to Matthew LeBretton, New Balance's vice president of public affairs.
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Update #1: The US military may soon be forced to buy American sneakers (CNBC)
Update #2: New Balance Snub Latest in Long Line of Pentagon Miscues (The Eagle-Tribune/Military.com)
WNU Editor: The law is the law .... but the Pentagon does have a point .... they are ugly running shoes .... and expensive.
1 comment:
Actually the Pentagon does not have a "point." If the US needed to go to war with a major power, the need to outfit the troops with uniforms, shoes, etc. would be enormous. At present, the US appears to lack this capacity to do this without turning to other countries.
I think it safe to say "made in China" would be unavailable in such circumstances. If the cost is to high, the Pentagon needs to work with US suppliers to find ways to lower the cost. If the quality is not up to standards, work with US suppliers to address this.
Even if we started now, it is going to take sometime to build the facilities and acquire the know how to do this in sufficient quantities. In the meantime, I'd suggest doing all we can within reason to avoid a major confrontation with countries such as Russia, China, and other major powers. Actually such would be a good idea for all time but it would seem the US is in no way ready at present for such a conflict.
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