The Oneida Daily Dispatch (Oneida, NY)
Brindisi, Schumer push for SPOONSS Act
The act would help companies like Sherrill Manufacturing.
Congressman Anthony Brindisi and Senator Chuck Schumer said they fought to include the Support Procurement of our Nation’s Stainless Steel Act (SPOONSS) in the final conference report, which would help companies like Sherrill Manufacturing.
The measure, sponsored by Brindisi in the House and included in the NDAA, would reinstate the Berry Amendment’s longstanding Department of Defense domestic sourcing requirement for stainless steel flatware. Brindisi secured this provision in the House NDAA and Schumer worked to ensure it was included in final passage.
The SPOONSS Act was introduced in previous years but was defeated each time it came to a vote. Now, it is included in must-pass legislation that will head to the President’s desk before the new year, according to Brindisi.
“Stick a fork in it; my SPOONSS Act will help upstate companies like Sherrill Manufacturing sell more f latware and employ more people in our community,” Brindisi said in a news release. “I am thrilled to see the SPOONSS Act included in the NDAA. I fought hard to get this legislation included because it will create good-paying jobs in Oneida County. I want to thank Senator Schumer for his hard work to keep this provision included in the final bill.”
“This is a wonderful realization of a goal we have long pursued: getting the United States government to use its buying power to support the worldclass workers at Sherrill Manufacturing, the very last flatware maker in the good ol’ US of A,” Schumer added. “That’s why I’m so proud I worked with Congressman Anthony Brindisi to finally put a fork in this issue and include our provision requiring our military to purchase utensils and f latware from American manufacturers like Sherrill Manufacturing in
“I fought hard to get this legislation included because it will create goodpaying jobs in Oneida County. I want to thank Senator Schumer for his hardwork to keep this provision included in the final bill.”
— Congressman Anthony Brindisi
this year’s NDAA, which is expected to pass Congress next week.
“Not only will this law ensure that our military have the highest quality silverware available, made by hardworking Americans, but will also provide a valuable shot in the arm to the Mohawk Valley economy, America’s only remaining flatware-maker.”
Officials noted how the Department of Defense was previously required to purchase American-made flatware, but due to a supply problem, this requirement was removed in the 2007NDAA. Since then, domestic flatware and dinnerware production has rebounded.
Oneida County’s Sherrill Manufacturing, located in Sherrill, NY, produces several lines of flatware under the Liberty Tabletop brand and continues to grow its American workforce and revenue.
The SPOONSS Act will go into effect one year after passage and sunset in 2023. A report is due by October 1, 2020, from the Secretary of Defense providing a market survey, cost assessment, description of national security considerations, and a recommendation regarding whether procurement of stainless steel flatware should be limited to sources in the US. The House is expected to pass the NDAA this week.