This bill would change part of the Defense Production Act. It requires the Defense Production Act Committee to meet at least twice a year and gives the Committee chair the power to create subcommittees. The bill creates a new Subcommittee on Emerging Technology. That Subcommittee must study how certain "covered technology" affects national defense needs and how those technologies can be used within or across agencies and industries. The bill lists example fields to consider when defining "covered technology": artificial intelligence and robotics; biotechnology; cryptography and quantum computing; materials science; semiconductors; and space. The bill also requires the new Subcommittee to send Congress, within 18 months, an evaluation about the possible benefits, drawbacks, and resources needed to create a strategic reserve of critical biomanufacturing for defense. The bill includes a small wording correction to the Defense Production Act.
If you work for a federal agency that is a member of the Defense Production Act Committee, the Committee will be required to meet more regularly and may form a new Subcommittee focused on emerging technology. If you work in one of the listed technology fields or in biomanufacturing, your industry could be studied by that Subcommittee as it evaluates how those technologies relate to defense needs. The Subcommittee must report to Congress within 18 months about a possible strategic reserve for critical biomanufacturing. No publicly available information explains other direct effects on individuals or private companies.
No publicly available information on costs, funding, or authorized spending is included in the bill text.
No publicly available information.
No publicly available information.