National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2027

Floor Speech

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Mr. MILLS. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman for yielding.

Likewise, the gentleman from Alabama is an amazing chairman. We appreciate everything he has done for the National Defense Authorization Act but also for our warfighters.

Mr. Chair, I rise today in strong support of my amendment in the National Defense Authorization Act.

Right now, our Nation's Defense Industrial Base is facing a massive supply chain crisis. We need to innovate, be agile and resilient, and we need to win.

The answer is right here in our small businesses, especially our employee-owned small businesses, also known as ESOPs.

In 2021, the Department of Defense created a pilot program to incentivize contracting with high-performing, worker-owned companies. It was a great idea, but under the current rules, a business must be 100 percent employee-owned to qualify.

Mr. Chairman, that rigid rule locks out nearly 6,500 ESOPs nationwide, covering 14 million to 15 million American workers. It makes the program completely unusable for the vast majority of ESOPs in place in every district represented in this Chamber.

My amendment fixes this by aligning the ESOP threshold with the Small Business Administration rules and giving the Department of War the discretion to rate these companies on merit and not formula.

Data shows that employee-owned companies consistently perform better, stay resilient, and deliver higher value. By lowering this arbitrary barrier, we support these businesses while we boost competition in the DOW procurement, support American workers, and drive Federal dollars back to the Main Street.

Let's empower our small businesses, strengthen our national security, and pass this amendment.

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