MANSFIELD — U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown visited his hometown on Wednesday to celebrate the All-American Flag Act with Richland County veteran and labor leaders gathered at the AMVETS Post 26.
The bill, which Brown first introduced in 2011, requires the federal government to only buy American flags completely produced and manufactured in the United States.
“If it’s a government flag, post office, military base, military funeral — it should be 100% American-made,” the senator said. “I would love to get to the point where even flags you buy at Walmart are American-made.
“I’m sure most of them aren’t.”
President Joe Biden signed the bill into law in July. It will take effect in January for all new flags, six months after being signed.
Before the legislation passed, government buildings could buy and fly flags containing just 50% American-made materials.
Brown reintroduced the legislation with Susan Collins (R-ME), Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Gary Peters (D-MI) last year on Flag Day.
“It should have passed right away,” Brown said. “But anytime you fight corporate interest on trade agreements and trade laws, it can be a fight since flag-makers can make more money if they make them in China or wherever they’re made.”
VFW Post commander: ‘gratifying to see bipartisan common-sense legislation’
Brown presented VFW Post 9943 commander Bill Myers and Norm Shoemaker, president of Mid-Ohio Area Labor Council, with framed flags flown at the Capitol building on Wednesday.
“As a proud military veteran who served this country for more than 35 years, I’m thrilled to stand with my old schoolmate Sherrod Brown and tell him and our community how gratifying it is to see this bipartisan common-sense legislation become law,” Myers said.
Myers also gave Brown a Commander’s Coin of Excellence from his last tour in Iraq as a command sergeant major in the U.S. Army.
“I wanted to give this to you to thank you for your work for Ohio,” Myers said.
“I thought ‘you gotta be kidding me,’ when I learned the government didn’t have to use all American-made flags. I’m happy that Sherrod and Senator Collins came together to do something common sense.
“We’re lucky to have Sherrod in Wasington and the fact that he’s a hometown boy from good old Mansfield is an incredible stroke of luck for us.”
Shoemaker also thanked the senator for introducing the All-American Flag Act.
“Having been a soldier, I know it’s truly meaningful to carry the colors and honor the fallen with our nation’s colors draped over their casket,” he said. “Ensuring that American flags are made in America, especially for those heroes, is a significant step.”
According to the U.S. Department of Commerce and U.S. Census Data, in 2015 the dollar value of U.S. imports of American flags was $4.4 million.
Of that amount, $4 million of imported flags came from China. In 2017, the U.S. imported 10 million American flags. Of those, all but 50,000 came from China.
“If we’re going to build up American manufacturing, this is a small part of it,” Brown said. “This is more than just symbolic because that means real jobs.”
