U.S. Sens. Thom Tillis (R-NC) and Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) recently introduced legislation to bolster U.S. military preparedness in response to a global conflict.
Tillis and Shaheen, members of the Senate Armed Services Committee, recently detailed the Promoting Readiness for Overseas Contingencies and Unexpected Responses to Exigencies (PROCURE) Act.
“While Putin’s illegal invasion resulted in a swift and robust response from the United States and our NATO Allies to arm the Ukrainian military, it exposed the fact that we have major inadequacies with our current munitions stocks,” Tillis said. “Our bipartisan PROCURE Act is essential to improving America’s capacity to quickly arm our allies in potential future conflicts without drawing from our own munitions stocks, which will greatly enhance our national security and military readiness.”
Bill provisions include establishing a Critical Munitions Acquisition Fund (CMAF), enabling the Secretary of Defense to improve management of industry production lines, and sustaining particular munitions lines critical to domestic national security interests.
The lawmakers maintain the bill enables support for allies and partners during a crisis without depleting domestic military stocks.
Authorities granted in the CMAF would aid the Department of Defense in anticipating the industry’s supply chain needs while enhancing purchasing power and driving down costs for the government, per the legislation.