Sending Office: Honorable Mark Pocan
Sent By:
Leslie.Zelenko@mail.house.gov
Join Bi-Partisan Letter to Keep “Buy America” Provisions in Final FY2019 NDAA
Cosigners: Reps. McKinley, P.E. and Garamendi
Deadline: COB Tuesday July 10th
Dear Colleagues:
Please join us on a letter to the Chairmen and Ranking Members of the House Armed Services Committee and Subcommittee on Seapower to ensure Section 841 of the House passed 2019 National Defense Authorization Act is included during conference negotiations.
Section 841 requires critical shipboard components on the Navy’s sealift and auxiliary ships must be manufactured in the US. This will ensure the continuation of the US Navy’s historical and mutually beneficial relationship with the domestic shipbuilding
industrial. It is also important to note that Section 841 permits these requirements to be waived for cost, schedule, and non-competitive reasons. In other words, Department of Defense components retain flexibility under these laws.
Doing so is a commonsense. The “Buy American, Hire American” policy that supports our domestic industrial base and our national and economic security. If domestic sources for critical defense components exit the market, our military could be forced into
relying on countries that do not share our interests, including strategic adversaries like China or Russia, or countries with an ineffective supply chain security practices, for parts and supplies.
We encourage you to join us to ensure Section 841of the House passed NDAA remains in the final conference agreement. Please contact Leslie Zelenko in Rep. Pocan’s office at
Leslie.Zelenko@mail.house.gov or Stephen Hostelley in Rep. Renacci’s office at
Stephen.Hostelley@mail.house.gov to sign on to the letter.
Sincerely,
Jim Renacci Mark Pocan
Member of Congress Member of Congress
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
The Honorable Mac Thornberry The Honorable Adam Smith
Chairman Ranking Member
House Armed Services Committee House Armed Services Committee
The Honorable Rob Wittman The Honorable Joe Courtney
Chairman Ranking Member
House Subcommittee on Seapower House Subcommittee on Seapower
July XX, 2018
Dear Conferees,
As you prepare for conference of the Fiscal Year 2019 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), we respectfully request that you urge Senate conferees to include
Section 841 of the House bill.
Section 841 of the House-passed bill maintains the US Navy’s historical and mutually beneficial relationship with the domestic shipbuilding industrial base through continuation of policies that have served U.S. national security and the public interest
for almost 25 years.
This is not a new requirement, but rather would ensure the restoration of policy initially put into law through the FY1991 NDAA and subsequently amended the following two fiscal years when the National Defense Sealift Fund (NDSF) was established.
Section 841 would require that critical shipboard components on the Navy’s sealift and auxiliary ships must be manufactured in the US.
In the FY2015 budget submission, the Navy proposed (for auditability purposes) moving the funding for these ships out of the NDSF into the Shipbuilding and Conversion, Navy (SCN) account, meaning these longstanding “Buy American” requirements would not apply
to future sealift ships. Navy officials, in public meetings, have indicated that eliminating the US-manufacture requirement by moving the funding from one account to another was an “unintended consequence.” Section 841 would ensure that, regardless of whether
these ships are funded through NDSF or SCN, these critical industrial base requirements remain in place.
Doing so is a commonsense “Buy American, Hire American” policy that supports our domestic industrial base and our national and economic security. Failure to do so puts the U.S. industrial base at risk and has the additional effect of undercutting U.S. steel
and iron producers because foreign manufacturers of these components do not use U.S. raw materials.
Jeopardizing the stability of companies—located in states across the country—that manufacture these defense components would harm our military’s ability to rely on secure and stable supplies in an increasingly dynamic global security environment. If domestic
sources for critical defense components exit the market, our military could be forced into relying on countries that do not share our interests, including strategic adversaries like China or Russia, or countries with an ineffective supply chain security practices,
for parts and supplies. This would unnecessarily inject risk into the defense acquisition system, ranging from counterfeit parts to uncertain lifecycle sustainment support to cybersecurity vulnerabilities.
On the other hand, domestic content restrictions help ensure that critical products meet our military’s high standards for reliability, availability, and maintainability, supporting the warfighter’s safety and effectiveness. It is also important to note
that Section 841 permits these requirements to be waived for cost, schedule, and non-competitive reasons. In other words, Department of Defense components retain flexibility under these laws.
Eroding Buy American requirements also runs counter to two Presidential initiatives—President Trump’s Executive Order directing the Pentagon to strengthen domestic manufacturing capabilities and his “Buy American, Hire American” Executive Order to better
enforce current domestic content laws.
In addition, maintaining this industrial base also has a direct impact on all other Navy combatant and amphibious ships, submarines and aircraft carriers. Because Navy nuclear programs dictate NOFORN access, they must be able to depend upon a specialized
US manufacturing and supplier base. In addition, these same US manufacturers ensure the readiness of all Navy ships through life-cycle support, including technical expertise, certified repair parts, and availability of service personnel around the world, 24
hours a day. Failure to restore this US-manufacture requirement could jeopardize the readiness and affordability of the entire Navy fleet.
Including Section 841 of the House-passed NDAA in the conference agreement to strengthen the domestic industrial base is particularly important as we begin the build-up of the 355-ship
Navy that the Nation Needs (NNN).
We urge you to adopt Section 841 of the House bill in the final conference agreement. Thank you for your consideration of this important request.
Sincerely,
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