OPINION:
If you have ever waited weeks for a car repair because a part was backordered, you know how that delay can disrupt your life. Getting to work or picking your kids up from school suddenly requires rearranging your day or finding alternative transportation, all because some component was delayed somewhere in the supply chain. When the equipment waiting on that part is a Black Hawk or an armored vehicle, service members are left without the equipment they need to carry out their missions.
Thousands of individual parts go into our defense supply chain. Disruptions threaten or limit our warfighters’ ability to complete their missions and return home safely. Defense demand can change dynamically due to new technology or surge rapidly due to conflict. We must have a robust, innovative and responsive defense industrial base to meet each moment.
Congress created the Defense Production Act in 1950 to fix supply chain production needs during the Korean War. In the wake of WWII, the U.S. abandoned defense production and was unprepared, so Congress authorized the president to provide financing for manufacturers and direct that defense orders move ahead of other contracts.
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More than 75 years after Congress enacted the DPA, nearly everything about defense and production has changed. But the law has not. Our globalized supply chains pose specific risks. American manufacturers now rely on critical minerals processed overseas and components that may pass through several countries before reaching their factories. Foreign dependence results in vulnerabilities, both malicious and benign. If an adversary cuts off access to critical materials or disrupts their delivery, the resulting shortages can become a national security crisis.
Smart defense contracting can remedy some situations, but in some vital sectors our flawed trade policy has been exploited by China in particular. For certain items, there is no real market price. China sells below market to bankrupt foreign rivals. This leaves American companies competing against foreign governments rather than rival companies in a competitive marketplace.
Congress needs to modernize the Defense Production Act to help American companies keep our supply chains viable and resilient. I introduced the DPA Modernization Act with Republican and Democratic colleagues to extend these authorities through 2031 and update how they support American production. The Financial Services Committee approved it unanimously. The bill would simplify approval of production investments and allow regulatory waivers to accelerate procurement of critical technologies and minerals, including permitting for the facilities needed to produce them. It also would support mining and processing in the United States and allied countries, giving manufacturers more reliable sources of materials beyond our adversaries’ control. Agencies would also be required to identify supply vulnerabilities and plan how to address them before shortages disrupt military production.
When the National Defense Authorization Act returns to the House, the DPA Modernization Act should be included in the final bill. While the administration has been working aggressively to address these problems, the bill has already earned unanimous support in committee. Including it in the NDAA would help turn that agreement into law and provide a modernized framework that can provide continuity in this vital line of effort to keep America secure.
• Rep. Warren Davidson, a member of the House Financial Services Committee, represents Ohio’s 8th District in Congress.
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