Congress locks in military flatware sourcing rule, removing future review.
H.R. 4822 — FORKS Made in America Permanency Act of 2025 · Filed by Claudia Tenney (R-NY) · Introduced Jul 29, 2025 · Referred to committee
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What it does
This bill makes permanent a requirement that the Department of Defense buy stainless steel flatware and dinnerware from American sources. Currently, that requirement expires on a set date; this bill removes the expiration and keeps the rule in force indefinitely.
Why we flagged it
The bill's sole function is to eliminate a sunset clause, converting a temporary domestic-sourcing requirement into a permanent one. It is a straightforward legislative extension with no hidden mechanisms.
What the text implies
- Permanent sourcing mandates may increase DoD procurement costs for flatware and dinnerware, raising military supply-chain expenses indefinitely without periodic review or sunset.
- The bill locks in a requirement without a mechanism for future reassessment, even if domestic suppliers become uncompetitive or foreign alternatives offer significant cost savings.
- Sustaining domestic sourcing for a low-value commodity (flatware/dinnerware) may crowd out procurement flexibility for higher-value military goods where sourcing decisions are more strategically sensitive.
Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.
Who it affects
The bill sustains a domestic-sourcing requirement that may support American manufacturing jobs and reduce reliance on foreign supply chains for military goods. However, permanent sourcing mandates can increase procurement costs for the military, which ultimately comes from taxpayer funds, and may limit competition or drive up prices for flatware and dinnerware without clear evidence of offsetting public benefit.
Who stands to gain
- American stainless steel flatware and dinnerware manufacturers
Named in the bill
Department of Defense, Public Law 118–159, Section 842 (10 U.S.C. 4862 note), Servicemember Quality of Life Improvement and National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 202
Where it stands
- Jul 29, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
- Jul 29, 2025 — Referred to House Committee on Armed Services · Congress.gov: “Referred to the House Committee on Armed Services”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
Money around this bill
1 lobbying clients named this bill on 2 disclosure filings across 2 quarters, Dec 2025 to Jun 2026. Those filings disclosed $100,000 in lobbying spend. A filing names 3 bills on average, so that figure is what each filing reported, not a share belonging to this bill.
More lobbying clients named this bill than 0% of bills with at least one filing.
Claudia Tenney, the sponsor, reported $1,189,908 in PAC receipts in the 2026 cycle.
- American Hospital Association — $100,000 on 2 filings
Lobbying Disclosure Act filings through Jul 20, 2026. A filing shows who paid to lobby on a bill it names, not what changed.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the bill text published by Congress.gov (425 characters) on Aug 29, 2026. Section numbers in the findings refer to that text, linked below; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 16,222 analysed bills.
Status and sponsors — Congress.gov's bill record — actions, committee referrals and cosponsors — loaded nightly. The timeline shows status changes, not every procedural action.
Money — Senate Lobbying Disclosure Act filings whose specific-issue field names this bill for quarters ending Dec 2025 to Jun 2026. A filing's amount is reported whole beside the median number of bills a filing names; it is never divided across them. PAC receipts are FEC-reported contributions to the sponsor's candidate committee in the 2026 cycle.
As of — lobbying records through Jul 20, 2026 · page rendered 2026-10-20.
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