Assistant Secretary of Defense for Industrial Base Policy ASD(IBP) Dr. Laura Taylor-Kale testified before the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs on July 25, 2024. During her testimony, she called on Congress to reauthorize the Defense Production Act (DPA), emphasizing the critical role that it plays in safeguarding vital U.S. national interests.
Highlighting the role the DPA plays in implementing the National Security Strategy, the National Defense Strategy, and the National Defense Industrial Strategy, she stated, “Going forward, the DPA will remain a critical national defense tool to mitigate supply chain risk vulnerabilities in our key weapons and defense systems, and for building capabilities with close global allies and partners.”
Dr. Taylor-Kale’s office is responsible for managing and executing DPA authorities and appropriations. DPA Title I authorities prioritize the delivery of weapons and materiel to allies and partners. The DPA Title III program plays a vital role in expanding production and enabling resilient supply chains, as well as reducing reliance on adversarial foreign sources. “Sufficient investment in the defense industrial base is critical to ensuring that the defense industrial ecosystem can produce at speed and scale,” she said.
Industry demand is high for Title III support, she stated, noting that in FY24 alone, the DPA Title III program has received over 140 industry white papers requesting a total of $1.26 billion in funding. “Through the use of Title III, DoD alleviates pain points in supply chains and expands domestic capacity in manufacturing, critical technologies, critical minerals and strategic materials, and vital defense capabilities.”
Earlier this year, Congress added the United Kingdom and Australia to the list of domestic sources for DPA Title III funds, a move that Dr. Taylor-Kale said will “reinforce important alliances and the short- and long-term development of secure defense critical supply chains.” Companies in these countries, the United States, and Canada are invited to apply for awards via the the Defense Industrial Base Consortium (DIBC) Other Transaction Authority (OTA), a vehicle designed to obtain more/faster access to solutions for defense requirements and innovations from industry, academia, and non-traditional contractors.
In her closing statement, she stated, “The DoD will continue to focus on increasing execution of DPA Title III funding and look for opportunities to utilize more of the authorities to include purchase commitments, loans, and loan guarantees. I cannot overemphasize how important the DPA is to ensure that the DoD can protect and strengthen the U.S. industrial base, and work with our closest allies and partners to secure defense-critical supply chains.”
About the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Industrial Base Policy (OASD(IBP))
The OASD(IBP) works with domestic and international partners to forge and sustain a robust, secure, and resilient industrial base enabling the warfighter, now and in the future. OASD(IBP) released the first-ever National Defense Industrial Strategy (NDIS) in January, and recently published the NDIS Interim Implementation Report. The NDIS and Interim Implementation Report can be accessed at https://www.businessdefense.gov/NDIS.html. Learn more about the DIBC OTA by visiting https://dibconsortium.org/.