Rep. Cisneros Champions COVID-19 Provisions in Unanimous, Bipartisan FY 2021 NDAA
Press Release
Representative Gilbert R. Cisneros, Jr. (CA-39), a member of the House Armed Services Committee, championed provisions to combat COVID-19 and future pandemics in the Fiscal Year (FY) 2020 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). The annual national defense authorization bill was voted out of committee and to the floor of the House last night on a unanimous and bipartisan basis.
"This pandemic has devastated the United States. While we're working to deal with our current health crisis, we need to make sure we're ready for future crises as well," said Rep. Cisneros. "Last night, I worked with my Republican and Democratic colleagues to secure critical provisions to combat the coronavirus and prepare for future pandemics. I'm especially proud, as I have spent months calling for support for small businesses that have stepped up in a time of crisis, that this defense budget includes the creation of a small business industrial base resiliency program. We need to support our small businesses who've changed their operations to manufacture PPE and medical supplies for frontline workers."
COVID-19 Provisions Secured in NDAA:
Creates a Pandemic Preparedness and Resilience National Security Fund, directing $1 billion to efforts to proactively increase the country's ability to prepare for and respond to future pandemics.
Requires one of the Assistant Secretaries to be the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Industrial Base Policy, whose principal duty would be the overall supervision of policy of the Department of Defense for developing and maintaining the defense industrial base of the United States and ensuring a secure supply of materials critical to national security.
Creates the Small Business Industrial Base Resiliency Program and authorizes the Assistant Secretary of Defense Industrial Base Policy to enter into transactions to purchase or make a commitment to purchase goods or services from small business concerns in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. These transactions are intended to support efforts to expand the small business industrial base in response to the pandemic and address supply chain vulnerabilities related to the pandemic for small businesses.
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