Global Fastener News

Distributors at LAFA Voice Frustration at Berry Amendment

Jason Sandefur

Editor’s Note: Several days after LAFA’s dinner meeting, Industrial Fasteners Institute lobbyist Jennifer Baker told FastenerNews.com “all indications are that some change of some kind (to the Berry Amendment) will be in the final Defense Authorization bill, which will either pass (the week of September 25) or in the lame duck session in November/December.” Baker also noted that any regulatory changes would not be implemented until 2007.

Panelists at the Los Angeles Fastener Association’s discussion on the Berry Amendment had to field questions from an anxious audience.
Nancy Dowling, a senior procurement analyst for the Department of Defense, and moderator Kelly Cole, vice president of sales and business development for WCL Co., tried to address issues concerning a federal law that has vexed fastener distributors.
Dowling prefaced her comments by calling the Berry Amendment a “complicated and complex law” that is up for revisions in Congress.
Initially passed in 1941 to cover food and textiles during WWII, the Berry Amendment was expanded in 1972 to include specialty metals. Dowling said the law clearly applies to giant defense contractors like Boeing and their suppliers.
“(Fastener distributors) really need to know whether you’re a subcontractor on a major weapons system,” Dowling advised.
Beyond that, the law is less clear about who is ultimately responsible for complying with the Berry Amendment. Many distributors are not informed where their parts will be used, making any judgment about the law’s applicability difficult.
Congress is currently working to revise the Berry Amendment. Dowling said major suppliers have acknowledged millions of dollars worth of parts that are noncompliant with the Berry Amendment since October 2005.
One LAFA member told Dowling that the law has forced aircraft distributors to spend millions to update material on parts that they already have certified and in stock but that has been ruled unqualified. Another LAFA member pointedly asked why stainless steel was listed as a specialty metal in the law.
“There’s nothing special about stainless steel,” the LAFA member exclaimed.
Acknowledging the concern in the room, Dowling admitted that she could not specifically address all the issues that the Berry Amendment raises in the fastener industry. She also reminded her audience that DoD doesn’t make the laws.
“We’ve tried to get flexibility and clarity in the law for years, but we’ve just found a lot of inertia,” Dowling emphasized.
Cole said the information “flowdown” is not occurring at the prime contractor level, leading to rampant uncertainty. He also pointed out that it is not a fastener supplier’s responsibility to know every customer use for their products.
Despite this, current inventory is rendered obsolete if it’s noncompliant with the Berry Amendment.
Compounding the problem is the lack of accurate information. Cole said a recent Berry amendment article in a fastener industry journal contained numerous errors.
“There is a lot of misinformation out there,” Cole claimed.
How much information should customers supply fastener distributors in order to assure compliance? Dowling could not say whether blanket letter from customers demanding Berry compliance could automatically apply to all subsequent fasteners ordered by the customers, or if customers needed to specify the requirement on each purchase order.
“Berry is something you have to discuss, particularly now since we know we have a noncompliance problem at DoD,” Dowling noted.
Dowling said there is no federal requirement forcing a contractor to swear that he is Berry compliant.
“The Berry Amendment does not require written certification.”
Written certificates are something that customers are demanding, but is not mandated by DoD. DoD is producing an online Berry education class for industry, which should be available within in the next week.
Whatever the obstacles, Dowling pointed out that ignorance has been no defense against the Berry Amendment. She said the Justice Department has a “heavy” caseload related to Berry.
“Always think about the intent of Berry when you’re trying to figure out what’s applicable,” Dowling advised. �2006 FastenerNews.com