Lawmakers have agreed to drop a provision from the final fiscal year 2022 defense authorization bill that would have steadily increased the Pentagon's domestic sourcing requirements for materials used in its major defense acquisition programs.
The enhanced “Buy American” provision authored by Rep. Donald Norcross (D-NJ), which was included in the House’s initial version of the bill, was opposed by defense industry advocates as well as foreign military officials.
The provision would have required the defense secretary to provide Congress with a report “assessing the domestic source content of any procurement and would increase over a period of several years the domestic content requirements for the purposes,” according to a joint explanatory statement of the final bill released by House and Senate negotiators.
Norcross, who is chairman of the House Armed Services tactical air and land forces subcommittee, has said the provision would strengthen the U.S. defense industrial base and insulate the supply chain from Chinese influences. He has also highlighted the fact the provision contains room for waivers in the event the new domestic sourcing requirements become too onerous.
The Senate’s version of the bill, however, did not contain Norcross’ provision and Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) was unsuccessful in getting a similar amendment included.
Now, the final bill on which the House and Senate will vote does not include the provision.
A congressional staffer said the bill does include some domestic sourcing provisions, but noted they are part of the “existing process whereby DOD reviews to determine whether additional sourcing requirements are warranted, balanced with programs and allied and partner input.”
Norcross released a statement to Inside Defense blaming Senate Republicans for blocking the measure.
“It is unbelievable that Senate Republicans would vote against American jobs,” he said. “Senate Republicans have obstructed our efforts to make America safer and more resilient. Senate Republicans say they support the American industrial base and the vital defense manufacturing jobs it is founded upon with one side of their mouths, while undermining provisions that would shore up those jobs with the other side. ‘Buy American’ policies ensure America can secure what it needs, when we need it, which we’ve seen is vitally important as we address supply chain challenges.”
In a statement released earlier this year, Norcross said he is focused on enhanced domestic sourcing that would address aggressive Chinese and Russian economic practices.
"The threats to the United States today are more complex, and our adversaries abroad like China and Russia are engaged in the types of business practices that cost American Jobs,” he said. “This bill will put us on a path to build back better by increasing our domestic supply chain capabilities, strengthening our workforce and giving our servicemembers the tools they need to win the future fight."
For two years now, Norcross has sought to significantly enhance DOD’s domestic sourcing requirements. And for two years, foreign defense officials have sent lawmakers letters warning it would stress America’s relationships with allies.
Last year, however, data analytics firm Govini released a report finding the number of Chinese companies in the U.S. defense industrial base has significantly increased since 2010.
"The prevalence of China-based companies across the department's supplier base will make it difficult to identify with certainty all of the cases where they are a single-source provider of a key technology or material," the report said.
According to the report, Chinese suppliers totaled 655 in 2019, up 420% from 2010, while the number of U.S. companies totaled 2,219, up 97%.