DOD’s Supply Chain Security Should be Strategic Priority, Congressional Task Force Says

Just_Super/iStock.com

The Defense Critical Supply Chain Task Force released six legislative proposals calling for less dependence on adversaries like China and improved supply chain visibility.

A House Armed Services Committee task force is recommending the Defense Department treat supply chain security as a strategic priority and create systems for mapping and monitoring the defense supply chain. 

The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted supply chain challenges as the U.S. scrambled to ensure it had enough personal protective equipment and then saw prices of consumer goods like cars rise due to a semiconductor shortage. In the early days of his administration, President Joe Biden signed an executive order requiring a review of certain supply chains. 

It’s in this context that the House Armed Services Committee set up its Defense Critical Supply Chain Task Force, which released its final report Thursday as Congress moves forward with the process to construct the 2022 National Defense Authorization Act. The task force, which ran for three months and was headed up by Rep. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., and Rep. Mike Gallagher, R-Wisc., hammered out a total of six legislative proposals in the 25-page final report to be submitted as NDAA amendments. 

In addition to creating a departmentwide risk assessment strategy and systems for generating more visibility into the supply chain, the task force also recommends the U.S. acquire commercially available tools for mapping the supply chain, make a plan for reducing reliance on adversaries like China for resources and manufacturing, establish a coalition to push for workforce improvement, lean more heavily on the National Technology and Industrial Base group, and secure the rare earth elements supply chain via close coordination with the Energy and Interior departments. 

In an era of globalization, gaining visibility into increasingly complex supply chains has been a challenge. The defense industrial base has been struggling to adjust to the implementation of statutes like Part B of Section 889 of the 2019 NDAA, which blocks the Pentagon from working with contractors that use products or services from certain banned Chinese companies like Huawei and ZTE. 

“There's a certain inertia, a certain status quo bias and a shared sense that this is such an impossible task, informed, perhaps, by past sector-by-sector, tier-by-tier failures that we need to overcome within DOD, particularly as technology, I think, has opened up the opportunity to actually figure this out,” Gallagher said during a Thursday Center for New American Security discussion on the report.

Gallagher said a former Trump administration official suggested during a task force roundtable that one route to advancing supply chain mapping may be to start with one legacy program and conduct as much in-depth mapping on that program as possible. Then, using lessons from that experience DOD could iterate its mapping processes.

Slotkin added that despite difficulties in analyzing defense supply chains, she doesn’t want leaders to become prisoners to vulnerabilities created by depending on adversaries like China. 

“But you can’t fix that unless you know about the vulnerability,” Slotkin said during the CNAS event. “So that’s what we’re asking for.”

The task force also recommended a series of actions for DOD and the administration around industrial base issues, Defense Production Act usage, and workforce concerns. The House is set to begin markups of the 2022 NDAA next week

X
This website uses cookies to enhance user experience and to analyze performance and traffic on our website. We also share information about your use of our site with our social media, advertising and analytics partners. Learn More / Do Not Sell My Personal Information
Accept Cookies
X
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Do Not Sell My Personal Information

When you visit our website, we store cookies on your browser to collect information. The information collected might relate to you, your preferences or your device, and is mostly used to make the site work as you expect it to and to provide a more personalized web experience. However, you can choose not to allow certain types of cookies, which may impact your experience of the site and the services we are able to offer. Click on the different category headings to find out more and change our default settings according to your preference. You cannot opt-out of our First Party Strictly Necessary Cookies as they are deployed in order to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting the cookie banner and remembering your settings, to log into your account, to redirect you when you log out, etc.). For more information about the First and Third Party Cookies used please follow this link.

Allow All Cookies

Manage Consent Preferences

Strictly Necessary Cookies - Always Active

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data, Targeting & Social Media Cookies

Under the California Consumer Privacy Act, you have the right to opt-out of the sale of your personal information to third parties. These cookies collect information for analytics and to personalize your experience with targeted ads. You may exercise your right to opt out of the sale of personal information by using this toggle switch. If you opt out we will not be able to offer you personalised ads and will not hand over your personal information to any third parties. Additionally, you may contact our legal department for further clarification about your rights as a California consumer by using this Exercise My Rights link

If you have enabled privacy controls on your browser (such as a plugin), we have to take that as a valid request to opt-out. Therefore we would not be able to track your activity through the web. This may affect our ability to personalize ads according to your preferences.

Targeting cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.

Social media cookies are set by a range of social media services that we have added to the site to enable you to share our content with your friends and networks. They are capable of tracking your browser across other sites and building up a profile of your interests. This may impact the content and messages you see on other websites you visit. If you do not allow these cookies you may not be able to use or see these sharing tools.

If you want to opt out of all of our lead reports and lists, please submit a privacy request at our Do Not Sell page.

Save Settings
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Cookie List

A cookie is a small piece of data (text file) that a website – when visited by a user – asks your browser to store on your device in order to remember information about you, such as your language preference or login information. Those cookies are set by us and called first-party cookies. We also use third-party cookies – which are cookies from a domain different than the domain of the website you are visiting – for our advertising and marketing efforts. More specifically, we use cookies and other tracking technologies for the following purposes:

Strictly Necessary Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Functional Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Performance Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Social Media Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Targeting Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.