CRAPO STATEMENT AT HEARING ON DEFENSE PRODUCTION ACT OVERSIGHT

WASHINGTON– U.S. Senator Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), Ranking Member of the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee, delivered the following remarks during a Banking Committee hearing on oversight of the Defense Production Act (DPA):  

 

"Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

 

"As the United States continues to face conflicts overseas, as well as terrorist threats and natural disasters at home, it is again time to consider reauthorization of the Defense Production Act, commonly referred to as the 'DPA.'

 

"When its authorities are properly exercised, the DPA ensures adequate and timely delivery of critical materials to maintain our national defense posture and meet the demands of national emergencies. 

 

"The DPA, amended and reauthorized some 51 times, remains a powerful resource that demonstrates how strongly our defense capabilities rely on our nation’s economic strength and flexibility to preserve the readiness of our national defense to prepare and respond to military conflict, domestic disasters, or acts of terror in the United States. 

 

"The DPA has enabled Presidents, for more than 60 years, to meet evolving threats to U.S. national security within the confines of a consolidated defense industrial base and the challenges of a globalized economy. 

 

"Most recently, Presidential uses of DPA authorities have been applied both in national defense and in natural disaster contexts. 

 

"The DPA has been used to prioritize the provision of night-vision equipment for Afghanistan, bullet-proof vests and the anti-mine MRAP vehicles for Iraq, and terror-screening systems for the FBI. 

 

"DPA authorities have also been used to restore critical infrastructure following Hurricane Katrina and provide interpretive services for Super Storm Sandy victims.

 

"It’s been some time since the Committee has had occasion to formally hear from witnesses about the effectiveness and problems encountered with the DPA’s programs.

 

"I look forward to this morning’s testimony to help us evaluate how the President is using the authorities granted him under the Act in order to ensure that those DPA authorities are being properly exercised by the President, in accordance with the law.

 

"Thank you, Mr. Chairman."