Lawmakers want to require the Pentagon to issue only American-made footwear such as combat boots to military recruits as part of the defense budget.
The final version of the National Defense Authorization Act includes a provision to require the Department of Defense to provide military recruits with American-made shoes, according to the Associated Press.
Maine U.S. Sens. Susan Collins and Angus King and Maine Rep. Bruce Poliquin championed the change and announced its presence in the authorization act on Wednesday.
The legislators say the change essentially subjects footwear to the Berry Amendment, which requires the Defense Department to give preference to American products.
The provision will go before the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate in the next few days. The Maine legislators say the provision will be implemented over the next two years.
Collins and Poliquin are Republicans and King is an independent. They trumpeted the rule change as a win for American jobs and U.S. manufacturing.
