"DANVILLE, Va. — U.S. Sen. George Allen, R-Va., says he wants the Department of Defense to practice the patriotism it preaches.

In a letter to Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, Allen urges him not to allow foreign companies to bid for the department’s material contracts.

“There is a long tradition of our armed forces proudly wearing and using American-made products,” Allen wrote.

“To discontinue this practice would adversely impact a number of patriotic American working men and women who have provided equipment, armaments and supplies to our troops for generations.”

Allen based his letter on Rumsfeld’s request that the House of Representatives pass the Defense Transformation Act for the 21st Century.

As now written, the legislation would permit the secretary of defense to waive requirements that the Pentagon seek to fill all its supply needs from American companies before approaching foreign vendors.

Circumstances warranting such waivers would include:

* Promotion of smooth equipment operations between U.S. and allied forces.
* Enabling the Pentagon to obtain the best equipment in an “expeditious manner,”
* Encouraging competition in the procurement process,
* Cutting defense costs.

Pentagon spokesman Glen Flood described the waiver clause as a tool of military modernization.

“We need to have some flexibility, and that’s just part of the whole procurement process that the secretary is looking to streamline,” he said. “Some parts of the procurement process are very cumbersome and archaic, and the secretary wants us to have the ability to — when absolutely necessary — be able to get that item very quickly.”

But Allen’s letter suggests that use of foreign suppliers could actually harm military readiness.

“In the event of conflict, the United States must maintain its self-reliance capabilities,” he wrote. “Contracting through often undependable allies could leave American men and women vulnerable and unprepared.”

That argument carries little weight with Chuck Pena, director of defense policy studies at the Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank.

“You have to feel fairly confident that whoever your supplier is, whether it’s a domestic supplier or a foreign supplier, is going to be reliable,” he said. “When we make a decision to go to war, we’re either ready to go to war or we’re not.”

The procurement debate could have local repercussions.

The Burlington Industries plant in Hurt produces fabric for the military.

Dan River Inc. supplies fabric for U.S. Army and U.S. Air Force dress shirts, and for the U.S. Navy’s work and dress shirts.

As a result, Allen’s procurement stance helps him politically, according to Virginia Tech political scientist Robert Denton.

“We know that in Southside and Southwest Virginia, manufacturing has been very important and it has been hit hard,” Denton said. “This is a good way to engender goodwill by appearing to do something, even when, in reality, it doesn’t generate a single job. It puts (him) on the record at very little cost.”

Allen’s 2000 victory over incumbent Democrat Chuck Robb rested largely with voters in Southside and Southwest Virginia.

Allen took 56 percent of the vote in the manufacturing-dependent 5th Congressional District and 58 percent of the vote in the neighboring 6th District.

Whatever the reasons behind it, Allen’s challenge to Rumsfeld has garnered praise from area political and industrial leaders.

Fifth District U.S. Rep. Virgil Goode is backing Allen and vowing to work with his House colleagues to strengthen requirements that the military exclusively buy American products.

Goode, who sits on the budget-writing House Appropriations Committee, suggested the Defense Department could pay a price if it tries to purchase supplies from overseas.

“Speaking for myself, I would certainly remember, in looking at their requests, how they acted in this situation,” he said. “You’ve got to do what’s best for national defense, but in buying uniforms and other things for the Department of Defense, they ought to buy it in America.”

Denise Laussade, Dan River’s vice president of finance, agreed.

“We are a supplier of goods, and we do agree with Sen. Allen that it is important to continue domestic manufacture for military goods, including apparel,” she said. “The American military needs to be able to insure an uninterrupted supply of quality products. Sen. Allen is also looking from a patriotic perspective of the people who are here in the homeland supporting our troops.”

Flood tried to soothe any fears that the Defense Department plans to turn its back on American industry.

“By no means does that (waiver) indicate that we are going to forego going to U.S. companies first,” he said.

Pena took a more hard-line stance, arguing that both Congress and the military should think first of the American taxpayer.

“My view is that since we are talking about taxpayer dollars being spent, if we can get better products from overseas then we shouldn’t limit ourselves to American companies,” he said. “Competition is always good. It will cause American companies to either build better products and/or have better pricing on their products.” " (George Whitehurst, The Daily Progress, May 4, 2003)

Editor's Note: See Richards Hits Contributions/ Goode Says 'I Support Good Jobs in America' for more on the political economy of the 5th District.