2. Former Secretary of Defense Melvin Laird Memorandum

Comment: Some respondents stated that the Laird Memorandum (November 20, 1972) used the term "melted" when the Secretary of Defense addressed DoD's implementation of the restriction in section 724 of the DoD Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 1973 (Pub. L. 92-570) that added specialty metals to the Berry Amendment list of items that must, with some exceptions, be "grown, reprocessed, reused, or produced in the United States."

DoD Response: The comment is factually correct. The Laird memorandum represented the DoD implementation of the law as it existed at that time, which was upheld in the courts. However, the statute now uses the terms "melted or produced," and it would be redundant to add the term "produced" unless it had a meaning different than "melted."