released a statement earlier this week which says, unlike most olympic teams around the world the u.s. olympic team is privately funded and we re grateful for the support of our sponsors. we re proud of our partnership with ralph lauren, an iconic american committee and excited to watch america s finest athletes compete at the upcoming games in london. and ralph lauren, we reached out for comment. they told me they are not giving any statement about this, soledad. i was e-mailing with someone inside the company at ralph lauren, when i first told the person i was doing the story, the person said, is the story also focusing on the other olympic sponsors who do not manufacturer in the usa? when i said this is a story about ralph lauren and its uniforms being made in china, this person added so an athletes winning a medal not wearing products from the usa is okay? ralph lauren does not make the products for the athletes while competing or on the paodium. and that s going to be
white and blue ensemble made entirely in china. lawmakers are outraged for outsourcing the clothing. alina cho joins us with more on that. there s rare bipartisan backlash on capitol hill about this. good morning, everything in the uniform from the beret to the blazer and shoes made in china. they are made by american designer ralph lauren as soledad said and they are just for the opening and closing ceremonies, recently i got an opportunity to look at the olympic gear with david lauren, ralph lauren s son and executive vice president of the company. he said they are focused on making olympians look good. you re meeting athletes and walking in the first olympics, many have never worn a tie or jacket or been on television before. we want the american team and athletes to really look like ambassadors. but the chinese manufacturing has lawmakers furious, kirsten gillibrand and steve israel sent a letter to the chairman of the u.s. olympic committee asking that the committe