Made-In-America Defense Act

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. BAUMGARTNER. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 4216) to direct the Secretary of State, in coordination with the Secretary of Defense, to carry out a review of the list of defense articles and services required to be transferred under the foreign military sales program as opposed to direct commercial sale (FMS-Only List), as amended.

The Clerk read the title of the bill.

The text of the bill is as follows: H.R. 4216

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ``Made-in-America Defense Act''. SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS.

Congress--

(1) believes the expeditious delivery of defense articles and services to allies and partners strengthens American national security;

(2) notes that the Department of Defense contracting process often adds significant amounts of time to the delivery of defense articles and services to allies and partners, and in some cases these articles and services could be appropriately transferred more quickly using direct commercial sales; and

(3) supports the ongoing and periodic review of the FMS- Only List to ensure that defense articles and services that can be appropriately transferred using direct commercial sales are not included on the FMS-Only list. SEC. 3. REVIEW AND REPORT.

(a) Review.--

(1) In general.--Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the Secretary of State, in coordination with the Secretary of Defense, shall carry out a review of defense articles and defense services that are eligible to be provided under the foreign military sales program under chapter 2 of the Arms Export Control Act, but not eligible to be provided under direct commercial sales under section 38 of such Act, in order to identify those articles and services that should also be eligible to be provided under direct commercial sales.

(2) Matters to be addressed.--The review required by this subsection shall address the following with respect to each defense article and defense services identified under this subsection:

(A) The average length of time to complete a transfer of the article or service under the foreign military sales program compared to such a transfer under a direct commercial sale, measured from the initial submission of the letter of request to the delivery of the article or service.

(B) The impact on the workload for the Department of State and Department of Defense by reason of a transfer of the article or service under a direct commercial sale.

(C) The benefits to United States national security and United States competitiveness by reason of a transfer of the article or service under a direct commercial sale.

(b) Report.--

(1) In general.--Not later than 30 days after the completion of each review required by subsection (a), the Secretary of State, in coordination of the Secretary of Defense, shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report that contains the results of the review, including--

(A) the average time to transfer the reviewed defense articles or services during the previous reporting period through the foreign military sales program and through direct commercial sales and how those averages compare to the averages reported in the previous reporting period;

(B) the leading causes of delays;

(C) any steps taken to reduce those delays; and

(D) any defense articles and services added to or removed from the FMS-Only list during the preceding reporting period, as well as the justification for such decisions.

(2) Form.--The report required by this subsection shall be submitted in unclassified form, but may contain a classified annex.

(3) Definitions.--In this subsection--

(A) the term ``appropriate congressional committees'' means--

(i) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Committee on Armed Services of the House of Representatives; and

(ii) the Committee on Foreign Relations and the Committee on Armed Services of the Senate; and

(B) the term ``FMS-only list'' means the list maintained by the Secretary of State of defense articles and defense services that are eligible to be provided under the foreign military sales program under chapter 2 of the Arms Export Control Act, but not eligible to be provided under direct commercial sales under section 38 of such Act.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this legislation to improve the foreign military sales process.

When our partners and allies choose to procure U.S.-origin defense articles or services, they have a choice to purchase items via either the foreign military sales process or the direct commercial sales process.

While foreign military sales are often the path of choice due to the robust, total-package approach, direct commercial sales are preferable in many cases, as it is faster and a more nimble process than foreign military sales.

However, the State Department maintains an out-of-date list of defense articles that may only be purchased via foreign military sales. This list is meant to only include the most sensitive technologies that would pose a risk to U.S. competitiveness or national security if these technologies fell into the wrong hands.

However, its outdated nature ends up creating the very problem that it seeks to avoid. U.S. competitiveness is limited, as our partners choose to turn to other sources for technologies that are too slow to procure from the U.S.

President Trump's April 9 executive order mandated that the State Department review and update the foreign military sales-only list.

This legislation would codify that requirement and go one step further by requiring an annual review of the list. This legislation would also enhance congressional reporting requirements to ensure that Congress has oversight over any changes to the list.

This much-needed legislation is a key part of reforming our foreign defense sales process to ensure that the United States maintains its competitiveness and remains the global partner of choice for procurement of defense technology.

Mr. Speaker, as a member of the Foreign Arms Sales Task Force, I urge my colleagues to support this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mrs. BIGGS of South Carolina. Mr. Speaker, President Trump made it clear: Put American jobs first, and cut the Washington red tape. I am proud to say that my bill delivers by turning the President's executive order into law and investing in American workers.

The Made-in-America Defense Act strengthens domestic manufacturing. It supports our allies, and it advances our national security, all by cutting through the Washington bureaucracy that too often slows us down.

Here is the bottom line: This bill will produce more jobs for our tradesmen and boost manufacturing in South Carolina and across the Nation.

For South Carolina's Third District, it means good jobs for welders, machinists, and engineers. It means new orders coming into counties like Anderson, Greenwood, Newberry, and Oconee, and many other hardworking blue-color communities all across the Nation.

Importantly, it means America's best equipment reaching our allies faster than ever before.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bill.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. BAUMGARTNER. Mr. Speaker, reforming America's foreign defense sales is a top priority of this administration. We must do our part to codify the improvements initiated by President Trump. I am proud to support this legislation to improve the foreign defense system, and I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this bill.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. BAUMGARTNER. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

The yeas and nays were ordered.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source