Legislation would modernize the Defense Production Act

Bipartisan legislation recently introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives would modernize the Defense Production Act that was enacted in 1950.

The Federal Overhaul of Reserve Command Executive Modernization Act would modernize voluntary agreement authorities to enabling federal agencies to partner with private industry more efficiently and launch pilot private-public agreements focused on pressing national security challenges. It also would re-establish the National Defense Executive Reserve, a corps of trained civilian experts and industry leaders who can be mobilized during national emergencies.

“Let’s leverage America’s best and brightest in the private and public sectors,” U.S. Rep. Zach Nunn (R-IA), who co-introduced the bill, said. “This starts with updating the Defense Production Act to provide the president with faster, smarter tools to respond and ensuring our industry and innovators are at the table before, not after, a crisis hits. As a colonel in the Air Force and a former intelligence officer, I know how critical speed and coordination are in modern threat response. This is about readiness, resilience, and using every tool we’ve got to defend America.”

The bill was introduced with U.S. Rep. Jim Himes’ (D-CT) Committee Leadership and Enhanced Accountability for Resilience Act. The bill would create permanent, government-wide infrastructure for implementation.