Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) introduced an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act of 2014 that would remove current language requiring purchasing from Federal Prison Industries (FPI) and bar FPI from receiving contracts reserved for small businesses. Military purchasing of clothing, footwear, tents, protective gear and other fabric products is a lucrative source of business for U.S. manufacturers, particularly those with 500 or fewer employees. The House version of the Act was passed in June 2013, but the Senate version stalled in December because of partisan conflicts over several controversial amendments to the bill.