“To modernize and reauthorize the Defense Production Act of 1950, and for other purposes.”
No CRS summary available for this bill.
This section makes technical corrections to front matter of the Defense Production Act of 1950 (DPA), including (1) correcting a typographical error in the short title by striking "cited as 'the Defense" and inserting "cited as the 'Defense," effective as of the date of the DPA's original enactment, and (2) revising the table of contents to reflect four titles: Title I (Priorities and allocations), Title II (Expansion of productive capacity and supply), Title III (General provisions), and Title IV (Prohibition and notification on investments relating to covered national security transactions).
This section amends Title I of the Defense Production Act of 1950 (DPA), which authorizes the President to prioritize contracts and allocate materials, services, and facilities to promote national defense, as follows: (1) in section 101, replacing gendered pronouns with "the President," striking references to "appropriate" agencies, restricting DPA powers to circumstances involving national defense and a national emergency declared by the President, a major disaster or emergency under the Stafford Act, or a public health emergency under section 319 of the Public Health Service Act (thus limiting their use to control civilian market distribution to one year, extendable by up to 180 days upon a non-delegable report to Congress), shifting certain authorities to the Executive Director of the Defense Production Act Committee, and authorizing regulations to be waived or revised to expedite procurement of critical technologies or minerals; (2) in section 102, making conforming pronoun and cross-reference changes; (3) in section 103, increasing civil penalties for violations to $100,000 (from $10,000); and (4) redesignating sections 107 and 108 as sections 204 and 207, respectively, and relocating them within Title II.
This section redesignates title III of the Defense Production Act of 1950 as title II and redesignates sections 301, 302, 303, 304, and 305 as sections 201, 202, 203, 205, and 206, respectively. (As background, title III authorizes loans, loan guarantees, purchases, purchase commitments, and subsidy payments to expand U.S. productive capacity and supply chain resiliency for materials and services essential to national defense.) It further revises the redesignated sections as follows: (1) In section 201 (renamed "Loan guarantees"), it requires concurrence of the Defense Production Act Fund manager for guarantees and direct determinations to the guaranteeing agency, Fund manager, and Defense Production Act Committee members (replacing presidential authority); and increases the maximum guarantee for cost shortfalls to $100 million (from $50 million) under specified conditions. (2) In section 202, it authorizes lending agencies (with required concurrences and consultations) to make loans during national emergencies; adds requirements that loans be secured by first-priority liens on collateral that attach upon disbursement, are senior to other claims, and are deemed perfected upon attachment (with priority payment over other unsecured claims upon default); and increases the maximum loan amount to $100 million (from $50 million). (3) In section 203 (renamed "Purchases, commitments to purchase, and subsidy payments"), it shifts authority from the President to specified Defense Production Act Committee members (in consultation with the Executive Director); increases the maximum expenditure to $100 million (from $50 million); limits government equity acquisitions to less than 15 percent of an entity's shares; and requires the Committee to report annually on any such equity holdings, including rationale and valuation changes.
This section reorganizes Title VII of the Defense Production Act of 1950 (DPA, 50 U.S.C. 4501 et seq.)—which contains general provisions on delegation of authority, regulations, penalties, and judicial review—as Title III; strikes DPA §§714 and 723; and redesignates §§701-711, 713, 715, 717, 721, and 722 as §§301-311, 312, 313, 315, 316, and 317, respectively. The section makes further changes to the redesignated sections, including the following: (1) in §301(e), requiring actions to be consistent with national defense requirements where practicable; (2) in §302, updating cross-references to Title II and expanding coverage to public health emergency preparedness and response activities; (3) in §303, authorizing senior-level presidential appointees for Titles I and II and establishing an Outreach Representative during public health emergencies to coordinate with medical manufacturers and suppliers; (4) in §304, requiring the President to issue regulations within 360 days of enactment and striking subsection (b); (5) in §305, clarifying priorities as "essential," increasing civil and criminal penalties to $100,000 (from $10,000), and prohibiting acquisition of sensitive personally identifiable information; (6) in §306, modernizing subpoena references and limiting civil challenges to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit; (7) in §308, eliminating the 10-day notice requirement and referencing §309 procedures; (8) in §309, narrowing exclusions from Administrative Procedure Act requirements; and (9) in §310, striking subsection (e), redesignating remaining subsections, modernizing language, and updating consultant compensation authority to 5 U.S.C. §3109.
This section redesignates title VIII of the Defense Production Act of 1950 as title IV and redesignates sections 801 through 809 as sections 401 through 409, respectively. The section makes conforming changes to internal cross-references within the redesignated sections (e.g., updating references from "section 801" to "section 401").
This section requires three studies and reports related to the Defense Production Act of 1950 (DPA). (1) The Comptroller General of the United States must begin, not later than one year after enactment, a study on the efficacy of DPA agencies' (i.e., agencies delegated DPA authority) methods for procuring and stockpiling DPA-related long-lead items (i.e., components with the longest design and fabrication times), including interagency cooperation recommendations and proposed DPA amendments. (2) Not later than two years after enactment, the Comptroller General must submit to the House Committee on Financial Services and Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs a report assessing coordination under DPA section 317 by the Defense Production Act Committee, identifying underused authorities, and providing improvement recommendations. (3) Not later than 18 months after enactment, the DPA Committee's Subcommittee on Emerging Technology must submit to Congress an evaluation of the benefits, drawbacks, and resources needed for a strategic reserve of critical biomanufacturing inputs essential to national defense.
This section makes conforming amendments to nine laws to reflect reorganization of the Defense Production Act of 1950, including (1) updating references from section 712 to section 316 in the ADVANCE Act of 2024, National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2020, and 10 U.S.C. 4891(b)(1); (2) updating the reference from section 708 to section 308 in the Energy Policy and Conservation Act; (3) updating the reference from section 721(a)(6)(A) to section 316(a)(6)(A) in the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2020; (4) striking a reference to section 719 in the NDAA for Fiscal Years 1988 and 1989; (5) in 10 U.S.C. 4891(b)(1), replacing the Secretary of Defense as presidential designee under former section 721(a) with the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States under section 316; (6) striking paragraph (2) of section 1102 of the American Homeownership and Economic Opportunity Act of 2000; (7) inserting "of 1950" after "Defense Production Act" in the NDAA for Fiscal Year 2022; and (8) changing "title III" to "title II" in section 848(b)(2)(C) of the William M. (Mac) Thornberry NDAA for Fiscal Year 2021 (10 U.S.C. 4811 note).