# 119-hr-8656: Ballistic Armor Made in America Act of 2026

119-hr-8656, Ballistic Armor Made in America Act of 2026, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Rep. Higgins, Clay [R-LA-3] (R-LA); status introduced; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-10-17).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-8656
- As of: 2026-10-17
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-hr-8656
- Congress: 119
- Title: Ballistic Armor Made in America Act of 2026
- Status: introduced
- Introduced: 2026-05-04
- Sponsor: Rep. Higgins, Clay [R-LA-3] (R-LA)
- Cosponsors: 7
- Policy area: Crime and Law Enforcement
- Touches household money: yes
- Last recorded action: 2026-10-17

## Summary

**Domestic sourcing and origin transparency for ballistic-resistant body armor.** This bill would require companies to disclose every country involved in making body armor and its ballistic fibers and would limit Department of Justice purchases to armor using U.S.-sourced fibers except narrow exceptions. - DOJ procurement would be barred from using funds to buy armor containing fibers grown or processed outside the United States unless the Attorney General finds U.S. armor unavailable at U.S. market prices or the fibers meet the Berry Amendment and the Kissell Amendment. - The National Institute of Justice would require submitters to disclose every country of manufacture and fiber origin within 60 days and add those disclosures to its Compliant Products List within 90 days. Products that use fibers sourced abroad could not use "Made in America" labeling. - The Federal Law Enforcement Training Centers would provide "Know Before You Buy" training for state and local governments that apply for or receive DOJ funding for armor, and the bill clarifies definitions for ballistic-resistant, hard, and soft armor.

## Cosponsors (7)

- Rep. Latta, Robert E. [R-OH-5] (R-OH), 2026-10-15T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Harrigan, Pat [R-NC-10] (R-NC), 2026-05-04T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Biggs, Sheri [R-SC-3] (R-SC), 2026-05-04T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Murphy, Gregory F. [R-NC-3] (R-NC), 2026-05-07T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Hunt, Wesley [R-TX-38] (R-TX), 2026-05-12T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Davis, Donald G. [D-NC-1] (D-NC), 2026-05-20T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Moolenaar, John R. [R-MI-2] (R-MI), 2026-06-18T00:00:00.000Z

## Provisions PRIA read

- Transparency rules for body armor: mixed, medium. This bill would make makers and submitters tell NIJ every country where a listed body armor model is made and where its ballistic fibers were grown or processed. NIJ would add those country disclosures to its Compliant Products List within 90 days, and update the list within 30 days whenever a mode…
- Justice Department must buy U.S.-made armor: mixed, medium. This bill would stop the Justice Department from using funds to buy ballistic-resistant body armor that is made from or contains ballistic fibers grown, reprocessed, reused, recycled, or produced outside the United States. The Attorney General could waive the ban only if U.S.-made armor cannot be p…

## Related bills

- 119-hr-3151: SHIPS for America Act of 2025
- 119-hr-1773: Federal Firearms Licensee Protection Act of 2025
- 119-hr-9298: Stopping Harmful and Outrageous Torts Act
- 119-hr-1181: Protecting Privacy in Purchases Act
- 119-hr-987: Fair Access to Banking Act
- 119-hr-925: Dismantle DEI Act of 2025

## Sources
- [119-hr-8656 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/8656)

## Related
- [119-hr-3151: SHIPS for America Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-3151)
- [119-hr-1773: Federal Firearms Licensee Protection Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-1773)
- [119-hr-9298: Stopping Harmful and Outrageous Torts Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-9298)
- [119-hr-1181: Protecting Privacy in Purchases Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-1181)
- [119-hr-987: Fair Access to Banking Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-987)
- [119-hr-925: Dismantle DEI Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-925)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-8656 (as of 2026-10-17).