A bill to ensure the maintenance of critical supply lines within the defense industrial base.

To ensure the maintenance of critical supply lines within the defense industrial base. 1. Maintenance of critical supply lines (a) Addition of certain items to list of high-Priority goods and services for analyses, recommendations, and actions related to sourcing and industrial capacity Section 849(c) of the William M. (Mac) Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 ( Public Law 116–283 (14) Unmanned aerial systems. . (b) Designation of critical technology areas Section 217(b)(2) of the William M. (Mac) Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 ( Public Law 116–283 (1) in subparagraph (A), by striking ; and (2) in subparagraph (B), by striking the semicolon and inserting ; and (3) by adding at the end the following new subparagraph: (C) a strategy to support domestic manufacturing and industrial base capabilities to support future defense requirements; . (c) Comptroller General report on Assistant Secretary of Defense for Industrial Base Policy (1) Briefing and report Not later than 270 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States shall brief the Committees on Armed Services of the Senate and the House of Representatives on the Comptroller General's preliminary findings related to the topics set forth in paragraph (2). The Comptroller General shall submit to such committees a report with a final description and assessment of such topics at an agreed upon date. (2) Topics covered The topics referred to under paragraph (1) are as follows: (A) The strategy, effectiveness, and responsibilities of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Industrial Base Policy. (B) The efforts of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering and the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment to assess the manufacturing and procurement of critical materials, including describing the offices and individuals that are responsible for identifying critical materials supply chain shortfalls, how such shortfalls are identified, and any variation in methods used across the Department of Defense. (C) The efforts of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering and the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment to implement procedures to protect supply chains for critical programs and technologies and disseminate that information to other appropriate Federal agencies and organizations. (D) Such other matters as the Comptroller General determines appropriate.

Summary: This bill requires the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment within the Department of Defense (DOD) to review unmanned aerial systems to determine and develop appropriate actions related to sourcing and industrial capacity. The bill also requires designated senior DOD officials to conduct annual assessments of workforce, infrastructure, and industrial base capabilities and capacity to support a strategy to support domestic manufacturing and industrial base capabilities to support future defense requirements. The Government Accountability Office must brief Congress and report on, among other topics, its findings related to the strategy, effectiveness, and responsibilities of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Industrial Base Policy.