Stevens Reintroduces Bipartisan Legislation to Strengthen U.S. Supply Chains Against Future Threats

January 5, 2021

WASHINGTON — On Monday, Congresswoman Haley Stevens (MI-11) reintroduced the Resilient Manufacturing Task Force Act, H.R. 171. This bipartisan legislation will strengthen domestic supply chains and help the economy better withstand future disease outbreaks, cyber-attacks, natural disasters, and other emergencies. The bill is cosponsored by Congressman Troy Balderson (R-OH-12).

“As we begin a new year with a new Congress, we must prioritize the security and strength of our national supply chains,” said Congresswoman Stevens. “The COVID-19 pandemic has called attention to our supply chain vulnerabilities, which is why I reintroduced the Resilient Manufacturing Task Force Act today. Supply chain interruptions at the beginning of the pandemic left healthcare providers and first responders across the country without essential, life-saving medical equipment. Michigan manufacturers stepped up and met the industrial call to action — switching gears and manufacturing essential personal protective equipment, ventilators, and medical devices. With the vaccine distribution campaign underway to put an end to COVID-19, we must be ready to quickly address potential interruptions in our supply chain. Future national security, public health, and other crises necessitate a resilient national economy. This bipartisan bill will strengthen and secure our national supply chains.”

ICYMI: Fox 2 Detroit: Rep. Haley Stevens details proposed new bill, the Resilient Manufacturing Task Force Act

The Resilient Manufacturing Task Force Act (RMTF Act) authorizes $5 million to create a Resilient Supply Chain Task Force, led by the Secretary of Commerce in coordination with the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Energy, to identify critical vulnerabilities in U.S. supply chains and lead three new initiatives:

A National Manufacturing Guard, comprised of industry experts that will be trained to manage the nation’s supply chains, logistics infrastructure, and workforce resources in times of crisis;
An open source platform which will support the National Manufacturing Guard with real-time, centralized information and run simulations to determine inventory, capacity, and resources on a national scale to prevent bottlenecks of critical supplies and equipment during an emergency to immediately address supply chain needs; and
a Technology Corps, which will serve as a workforce pipeline that prioritizes manufacturing skills determined by the Resilient Supply Chain Task Force and National Manufacturing Guard to be essential to U.S. economic security.

The RMTF Act uses a public-private partnership approach, convening experts from the federal government, academic and research institutions, labor organizations, Manufacturing Extension Partnership Centers, Manufacturing USA institutes, industry consortia and trade groups, and private companies with expertise in manufacturing, logistics, resource management, and workforce development.