THB AFFORDABLE FOOTWEAR COALITION

October23,2008

The Honorable Nancy Pelosi The HonorableHarrv Reid Speaker Majority Leader U.S. House of Representatives U.S.Senate

The Honorable John A. Boehner TheHonorable Mitch McConnell Republican Leader RepublicanLeader U.S. House of Representatives U.S.Senate

Dear SpeakerPelosi, LeadersReid, McConnell and Boehner:

Recently, in the midst of economic turmoil, Congressworked together to pass legislation that would unfreeze credit and reintroduce liquidity to the market. As leaders in the retail industry, we applaud Congress'sefforts to quickly addressa growing financial crisis. Amid the concernsof major financial institutions failing, it is important to remember the millions of hard working families acrossthe country that have been hit hardest by a souring economy and merit direct relief. Toward that end, we urge our leadersin Congressto pass the Affordable Footwear Act (H.R. 3934/S. 2372), which would offer timely relief to consumerson the cost of a basic necessity- all children's footwear and other moderatelypriced .

Fortunately, this bipartisan legislation, sponsored by over one-third of the House of Representativesand fourteen Senators,is something that Congresscan move quickly when it returns to ,DC after the elections.

The Affordable Footwear Act would eliminate the highest and most regressivetariffs on footwear no longer manufacturedin the . The legislation is supportedby retailers and domestic footwear manufacturers alike. Most importantly, the Affordable Footwear Act would eliminate duties that no longer serve any purpose except to raise the cost of shoesto hard working consumers. These tariffs go back to the Smoot-Hawley laws passedin the 1930s and have not been changed since - even though the footwear in the bill has not been manufactured in the United Statesfor decades.

Understandably, amid the urgency to pass the recovery bill, popular and important legislation like the Affordable Footwear Act was put aside. However, Congresscan still act this year, as it now seemslikely it will return this sessionto consider another stimulus measureto help jumpstart the economy. The Affordable Footwear Act is the perfect opportunity to provide a tangible tax cut that would immediately stimulate the economy and provide a benefit to Main Street Americans. We urge the inclusion of Affordable Footwear Act in appropriate legislation that passesduring the lame duck sessionto assiststruggling Americans. .&F F# iq#&& t-ffi F#t}YW ffr* {q.il#&$-gTX* fr$ L*tter t* e **qr*s*i*c1$E Lsed*:rshia*-- Fxg* 3 *f 'g Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,

StevenJackson KurtNath Tandem CEO Associate GeneralCounsel ACI International Los Angeles,CA Portland, OR

Rick Boume Alan Colman Presidentand COO CEO ASICS America Corporation Atsco Footwear Irvine, CA Avon, MA

Robert Campbell Jim Weber CEO Presidentand CEO BBC International BrooksSports,Inc. Boca Raton,FL Bothell, WA

Ronald A Fromm Alex Del Cielo Chairman and CEO coo Brown ShoeCompany Camuto Group St. Louis, MO Greenwich, CT

JamesSalzano Tim Boyle Executive Vice President Presidentand CEO The Clarks Companies Columbia SportswearCompany Newton Upper Falls, MA Portland, OR

Angel Martinez Michael Muskat Chairman and CEO Presidentand CEO Deckers Outdoor Corporation Deer Stags,Inc. Goleta,CA New York, NY

Joe Russell Jeffrey A. Shepard CEO CEO and President -Polo,Inc. FootstarInc. St. Louis, MO Mahwah,NJ

Hal Pennington Jim Issler CEO Presidentand CEO Genesco,Inc. H.H. Brown ShoeCompany Nashville, TN Greenwich, CT

Frank Arnstein Harvey K. Gerdy CEO CEO Inter Pacific Corp. International SeawayTrading Corp. Los Angeles,CA Boca Raton,FL &F$:*R*A*Lffi $##rWffi&ffi *#e*_gTX*pj 1",*t f e r t*"' Ce.t n: 6 e"*$ s {* ffi;? ! L* ;nd * rx fui p .* F'ag* 3 *i,4

Lavnence Tarica Jim Kimberlin CEO President Jimlar Corporation LJO,Inc. Great Neck, NY Wayne, NJ

GreggFoss Ron McCray President Chief Administrative Oflicer Laird, Ltd. Nike Inc. Marietta, GA Beaverton,OR

Robert T. DeMartini Matthew E. Rubel CEO Chairman Athletic ShoesInc. PaylessShoesource, Inc. ,MA Topeka, KS

Alan Luchette Michael Laemmermann coo COO/CFO Nine West Footwear Corp. North America, Inc. New York, NY Westford, MA

Bob Moore William J. Sweasy CEO Chairman and CEO Prime TanningCo.,Inc. Red Wing ShoeCompany,Inc. Berw-ick,ME Red Wing, MN

Bjoern Gulden Dale Whitney CEO President Rack Room Shoes RenaissanceImports, Inc. Charlotte, NC Matthews, NC

Uli Becker Michael Rupp Presidentand CEO President InternationaI, Ltd. The Rockport Company, LLC Canton, MA Canton, MA

Greg Tunney Bobby Tucker, Sr. CEO CEO RG Barry ShoeShow,Inc. Columbus, OH Concord, NC

Mark Lemond David Weinberg President coo ShoeCarnival SkechersUSA, Inc. Evansville,IN ManhattanBeach, CA

Bret Rasmussen GreggRibatt Presidentand CEO Presidentand CEO Kuru Footwear The StrideRite Corporation Salt Lake City, UT Lexington.MA AFF$R.BABLEFOOTWEAR COALITION Letter tc Ccngresslona! Leadership * Page 4 of 4

BryanP. Collins JeffreyB. Swartz President Presidentand CEO Topline Corporation The TimberlandCompany ,WA Strattram,NH

Mark Feldman Larry Skaggs GeneralManager CEO Valley LaneIndustries TrimfootCO., LLC New York, NY Farmington,MO

EduardoCastro-Wrieht Eric Wiseman Presidentand CEO CEO Wal-MartU.S. VF Corporation Bentonville.AR Greensboro,NC

MichaelBerkson BlakeKrueger President Presidentand CEO Stanbee WolverineWorld Wide Inc. Carlstadt,NJ Rockford.MI