Resilient Manufacturing Task Force Act of 2021
Bill: H.R.171 | Sponsor: Rep. Stevens, Haley M. (D-MI)
Policy area: Commerce

Summary:
Resilient Manufacturing Task Force Act of 2021
This bill requires the Department of Commerce to establish for one year the Resilient Manufacturing Task Force. Among other duties, the task force shall (1) identify critical vulnerabilities in the supply chains of products and resources that are essential to U.S. economic security, with a particular focus on vulnerabilities that have been made worse by COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019); and (2) develop specified plans to mitigate such vulnerabilities.

To require the Secretary of Commerce to establish a task force to 
 identify vulnerabilities in supply chains for United States entities, 
                        and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Resilient Manufacturing Task Force 
Act of 2021''.

SEC. 2. RESILIENT MANUFACTURING TASK FORCE.

    (a) Definitions.--In this section--
            (1) the term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of Commerce;
            (2) the term ``supply chain bottleneck'' means a limitation 
        in a production value chain that restricts the overall speed or 
        reliability of the manufacturing process;
            (3) the term ``Task Force'' means the Resilient 
        Manufacturing Task Force established under subsection (c)(1); 
        and
            (4) the term ``veteran'' has the meaning given the term in 
        section 101 of title 38, United States Code.
    (b) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that--
            (1) the COVID-19 pandemic has--
                    (A) exposed significant vulnerabilities in the 
                manufacturing sector of the economy of the United 
                States; and
                    (B) led to equipment shortages, supply chain 
                bottlenecks, and workforce misalignments;
            (2) the vulnerabilities described in paragraph (1) go 
        largely unnoticed until they are revealed by disease outbreaks, 
        cyber attacks, natural disasters, and other emergencies;
            (3) the crises described in paragraph (2) produce valuable 
        information, the collection and analysis of which can inform 
        policies to fortify the economy of the United States against 
        future threats; and
            (4) the responsibility for promoting national economic 
        resilience lies with the Federal Government, which must not 
        miss the opportunity presented by the COVID-19 pandemic to 
        learn from that crisis and prepare the United States to better 
        withstand future emergencies.
    (c) Resilient Manufacturing Task Force.--
            (1) Establishment.--
                    (A) In general.--Not later than 90 days after the 
                date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary, in 
                coordination with the Secretary of Defense, the 
                Secretary of Energy, and the heads of any other Federal 
                agencies that the Secretary determines appropriate, 
                shall establish the Resilient Manufacturing Task Force.
                    (B) Responsibilities of the secretary.--In carrying 
                out subparagraph (A), the Secretary, in coordination 
                with the officials described in that subparagraph, 
                shall--
                            (i) determine--
                                    (I) the number of members who shall 
                                comprise the Task Force; and
                                    (II) the qualifications of the 
                                members described in subclause (I);
                            (ii) appoint the members of the Task Force; 
                        and
                            (iii) establish procedures regarding the 
                        operation of the Task Force, including by 
                        determining the frequency with which the Task 
                        Force shall meet.
            (2) Duties.--The duties of the Task Force shall be the 
        following:
                    (A) To identify critical vulnerabilities in the 
                supply chains of products and resources that are 
                essential to the economic security of the United 
                States, focusing in particular on vulnerabilities that 
                have been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
                    (B) To mitigate the vulnerabilities described in 
                subparagraph (A) by developing plans for the following:
                            (i) The formation of a National 
                        Manufacturing Guard, which shall be a reserve 
                        of industry volunteers who are trained and 
                        empowered to, in times of crisis, help manage 
                        manufacturing supply chains, logistics 
                        infrastructure, and workforce resources.
                            (ii) The establishment of a Supply Chain 
                        Data Exchange, which shall support the National 
                        Manufacturing Guard described in clause (i) by 
                        providing real-time, centralized information on 
                        a national scale regarding, with respect to 
                        manufacturing supply chains, inventory, 
                        capacity, resources, and supply chain 
                        bottlenecks.
                            (iii) The formation of a Technology Corps 
                        to serve as a workforce pipeline that 
                        prioritizes manufacturing skills that the Task 
                        Force and the National Manufacturing Guard 
                        described in clause (i) determine to be 
                        essential to the economic security of the 
                        United States.
                    (C) In carrying out subparagraph (B)(iii), to pay 
                particular attention to increasing educational and 
                training opportunities for underrepresented minorities, 
                women, and veterans.
            (3) Advice.--In carrying out the duties of the Task Force, 
        the Task Force shall seek to obtain expertise from the public 
        and private sectors, including from--
                    (A) manufacturing extension centers created and 
                supported under the Hollings Manufacturing Extension 
                Partnership established under section 25 of the 
                National Institute of Standards and Technology Act (15 
                U.S.C. 278k);
                    (B) industry consortia and trade groups;
                    (C) private business entities, including small 
                manufacturers;
                    (D) Federal, State, and local government 
                specialists, including economic policymakers and 
                military logistics experts;
                    (E) academic and research institutions;
                    (F) labor organizations; and
                    (G) Manufacturing USA institutes described in 
                section 34(d) of the National Institute of Standards 
                and Technology Act (15 U.S.C. 278s(d)).
            (4) Termination.--The Task Force shall terminate on the 
        date that is 1 year after the date on which the Secretary 
        establishes the Task Force under paragraph (1).
            (5) Applicability.--The Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 
        U.S.C. App.) shall not apply with respect to the Task Force or 
        the activities of the Task Force.
    (d) Reporting Requirements.--The Secretary shall--
            (1) not later than 90 days after the date of enactment of 
        this Act, submit to Congress a report regarding the formation 
        of the Task Force, which shall contain--
                    (A) an identification of the members of the Task 
                Force, the respective areas of expertise of those 
                members, and the expected roles of those members; and
                    (B) a preliminary plan for carrying out the duties 
                of the Task Force, including forecasts for costs, a 
                preliminary timeline with respect to the activities of 
                the Task Force, and the expected resource needs of the 
                Task Force; and
            (2) not later than 90 days after the date on which the Task 
        Force terminates, submit to Congress a report containing--
                    (A) a description of the activities of the Task 
                Force during the 1-year period in which the Task Force 
                was in effect;
                    (B) a comprehensive description of how the Task 
                Force carried out the duties of the Task Force 
                described in subsection (c)(2), which shall include any 
                related policy recommendations;
                    (C) a recommendation regarding whether Congress 
                should establish a Resilient Manufacturing Advisory 
                Council to continue the role of the Task Force on an 
                extended or permanent basis; and
                    (D) if applicable, a proposal outlining, with 
                respect to the Council described in subparagraph (C)--
                            (i) the scope and activities of the 
                        Council; and
                            (ii) the funding and resource requirements 
                        of the Council.
    (e) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be 
appropriated to the Secretary $5,000,000 for the period of fiscal years 
2021 through 2022 to carry out this section, which shall remain 
available until expended.
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