Army soldiers march along the streets of Washington on June 14, 2025. (Gianna Gronowski/Stars and Stripes)
WASHINGTON — All service members would wear combat boots manufactured entirely in America and made with U.S.-sourced materials under a new bill introduced by a bipartisan group of lawmakers.
The legislation aims to ensure troops are equipped with “high-quality, safe and reliable” footwear and seeks to reduce reliance on foreign supply chains that have flooded the market with cheap, imported boots.
Defense Department regulations now allow troops to purchase foreign-made boots that have the appearance of regulation boots but fall “far short in quality and durability,” according to lawmakers.
“Ensuring our military’s readiness means every part of our service members’ uniforms must be functional, reliable and safe — and that we can surge supplies in crisis or conflict,” said Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., an Army combat veteran.
Rep. Nikki Budzinski, D-Ill., said a military boot manufacturer in her district — Belleville Boots — has faced unfair competition from countries such as China, undercutting jobs and posing a threat to national security.
“This legislation will safeguard our service members while supporting good-paying manufacturing jobs in Belleville and across the country,” she said.
The Better Outfitting Our Troops, or BOOTS, Act mandates all boots worn by troops, including optional boots that serve as alternatives to the military’s standard-issue boot, are 100% made and sourced in the United States or are compliant with the Berry Amendment.
The amendment requires the Pentagon to give purchasing preference to clothing produced in the United States.
Bill McCann, the executive director of the U.S. Footwear Manufacturers Association, said the introduced legislation closes a gap in the Berry Amendment by requiring all military footwear sold through Defense Department exchanges to be domestically sourced.
“Alarmingly, up to 50% of our service members currently wear foreign-made ‘optional’ boots, primarily from China and Vietnam, while on duty,” McCann wrote in a letter to President Donald Trump in May.
Lawmakers said the influx of foreign-made boots has led to a decrease in quality and undermined the domestic defense supply chain to the point that it would be too fragile to meet demand in the event of a major conflict.
The Pentagon is orienting itself to counter Chinese aggression in the Indo-Pacific region and expects Beijing to potentially use military force to bring Taiwan under its control.
“This bipartisan bill would help avoid supply disruptions in times of crisis, create more jobs and investment domestically and better outfit our nation’s troops,” said Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine.
Sponsors of the bill include Duckworth, Collins and Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, as well as Budzinski, and Reps. Mike Bost, R-Ill., and Jared Golden, D-Maine.
Golden, a Marine Corps veteran who completed two combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, said the legislation was good for service members, jobs and domestic manufacturing.
“American warfighters should be supplied American gear,” he said, “including footwear.”
