On August 13, 2025, the House Committee on Financial Services Subcommittee on National Security, Illicit Finance, and International Financial Institutions convened a field hearing at the National Museum of the United States Air Force at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio. Chaired by Rep. Warren Davidson (R-OH-08), with Full Committee Chairman French Hill (R-AR-02) and Ranking Member Joyce Beatty (D-OH-03) participating, the hearing examined how the Defense Production Act (DPA) could be modernized and reauthorized to strengthen America's supply chains and industrial base ahead of the law's Sept. 30, 2025 expiration.
The witnesses included Jeffrey W. Frankston, acting deputy assistant secretary of defense for Industrial Base Resilience; Charles D. Ormsby, acting director, Materials and Manufacturing Directorate, Air Force Research Laboratory, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base; Robert Faxon, chairman of the board, Consolidated Boring Inc.; and Gordon Follin, chief product officer, Beehive Industries.
The hearing highlighted bipartisan urgency to address vulnerabilities across the defense supply chain, particularly in critical minerals and advanced manufacturing capabilities. Lawmakers and witnesses emphasized that the DPA's Sept. 30 expiration presents a critical opportunity for Congress to extend, amend, and potentially increase funding for programs that have proven essential to national security.
The timing is particularly significant given that the recently enacted One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBB) provides $5 billion in new funding for critical minerals supply chain investments through the Industrial Base Fund, operating primarily through DPA Title III authorities.
1. Both Committee Members and Witnesses Urged Congress to Reauthorize the DPA before it expires on Sept. 30, 2025
Davidson opened the hearing by emphasizing that the 1950 law was designed to secure America's industrial base for national emergencies but needs modernization for current threats. He noted that the "COVID-19 pandemic exposed a reactive posture, proving that waiting for a crisis results in a delayed response and not always well thought out. Modernizing DPA demands a proactive approach to bolster domestic capabilities."
Hill echoed that sentiment, emphasizing that the U.S. faces "one of the most dangerous and complex global threat environments in recent history" and must pair military might with economic resilience and industrial strength.
Davidson outlined the modernization needs: "Streamlining the DPA process could enable faster agreements and expand flexible contracting. Increasing funding flexibility would allow Wright-Pat to prioritize emerging technologies as well as improving existing supply chains. Reauthorizing DPA offers a chance to reset and realign its authorities with today's threats. By enhancing Wright-Pat's role through simplified procurement, expanded funding, and proactive collaboration, we can rebuild a more resilient industrial base."
Lawmakers across the aisle agreed that the DPA must be reauthorized before it expires on Sept. 30 and that reauthorization should include reforms to streamline funding and procurement so that industry can ramp up production quickly. Members stressed that the DPA's statutory authorities are not relics of the Cold War but vital tools to counter 21st-century competitors, especially China.
2. Both Committee Members and Witnesses Urged Congress to Refine the DPA's Authorities to Provide Predictable, Multi-Year Support for Key Industries
Members of Congress from both parties and witnesses from government and industry agreed that the DPA must be reauthorized and modernized to provide predictable, multi-year support for critical minerals, munitions production, high-temperature alloys, and advanced manufacturing. While DPA Title III investments already total billions of dollars across hundreds of projects, significant gaps remain in everything from rocket motor production to gallium nitride semiconductors.
Witnesses underscored that letting the DPA lapse would delay investments in munitions, critical materials, and propulsion systems already under strain. Follin warned that timely reauthorization must strike a balance between modernizing the law and giving implementing agencies flexibility to address specific requirements. Lawmakers signaled that reauthorization should include multi-year funding, streamlined application processes, and clearer guidance on private cost-share expectations.
Follin presented four specific recommendations: (1) preserve and clarify Title III authority to support prototype-to-production transitions; (2) tailor programs for advanced manufacturers by streamlining contracts and adjusting cost-sharing requirements; (3) strengthen domestic supply chains for high-temperature alloys such as nickel superalloys and titanium; and (4) align Title III efforts with allied industrial-base initiatives like NATO and AUKUS.
Faxon emphasized that DPA investments should include buffer stocks of raw materials to avoid delays when supply chains are disrupted. He also stressed the importance of integrating commercial and defense manufacturing: "If we were to invest in a facility to increase defense industrial base, if we added funding to increase commercial in a modern, technology-driven, cost-effective factor of the future, that commercial aspect not only offsets financial requirements for that facility to maintain its solvency, but it also can be converted back to defense if necessary."
The urgency of action was a recurring theme. Faxon warned, "These efforts can take years to complete under normal circumstances. Several key pieces of equipment necessary for the rocket motor factory will need to be manufactured from the ground up. Designed, built, tested, runoff, and installed in some cases will take well over two years to complete before additional production can begin."
3. Critical Minerals Are the Top Investment Priority for DPA funding
Critical minerals dominated the discussion as witnesses detailed how China's export restrictions and market manipulation have created severe vulnerabilities in America's defense supply chains, with Beijing controlling crucial processing capabilities that the U.S. military depends on for advanced weapons systems.
Frankston emphasized the fundamental importance: "Minerals and materials are at the basis and the fundamental nature of everything that we do. If we do not have a particular mineral, it doesn't matter if we have 95% of all the other ones for a particular weapon system. We're still short because of that requirement."
China's dominance across critical mineral supply chains poses significant national security risks. Rep. Tim Moore (R-NC-14) noted that China "currently controls 50% of the global smelting capacity" for copper, which is "DoD's second most utilized material." Frankston confirmed the strategic threat: "China has absolutely been manipulating the market, has been placing export controls. And so, that is one of the reasons why we've placed such a high priority. It's why one of the earliest executive orders from this administration was on critical minerals."
The administration has responded with comprehensive DPA authorities targeting the entire supply chain. Frankston explained: "We have a presidential determination, a waiver to be able to use DPA for critical minerals and materials across the entire supply chain so that we can rebuild or reinforce our domestic capability and capacity... It's not just at the mine itself, it's not just at the processing itself, it's across the entire supply chain for critical minerals and materials."
Ormsby highlighted recent DPA-funded successes, including projects that have expanded domestic nickel production and achieved significant improvements in semiconductor manufacturing. One project "significantly improved production of gallium nitride monolithic microwave integrated circuits, achieving a threefold yield improvement at a 76% cost reduction."
The strategic approach acknowledges geographic constraints while prioritizing domestic processing capabilities. Frankston noted: "For the mines itself and where these minerals are coming out of the earth, geography matters. And some of this isn't just always not available in the U.S., and so that's why it's leveraging key partners and allies that we can utilize certainly at the mine level, but then build the processing and the supply chain capabilities internal to the U.S."
4. Additive Manufacturing Has Recently Become a Focus for DPA Funding Due to its Scalability and Ability to Revolutionize Production and Mitigate Project Cost Overruns and Delays
The hearing showcased how DPA funding is enabling innovative manufacturing technologies that could fundamentally transform defense production timelines and costs. Additive manufacturing emerged as a key solution to address the Pentagon's mounting challenges with traditional supply chains that struggle to meet surge demands while controlling expenses.
Follin detailed the transformative potential: "By designing engines in a new way to fully leverage the potential of additive, we see engines that are 25% more efficient, less than half the cost. They can be developed, tested, and fielded in one quarter of the time. They can be scaled up to produce more than 10,000 engines a year in less than three years at less than 20% of the cost of scaling conventional supply chains."
The scalability advantages offer dramatic improvements over traditional manufacturing. Follin testified: "In 15 months, so in 15 months we can double production. So, right now, we have the ability to make about 2,000 engines a year. In 15 months we'll ramp that up to be close to 5,000 and then another 15 months after that we could be ready to support close to 10,000, which is what we've been given by the DoD as a target."
This rapid scaling capability addresses critical defense stockpile shortfalls. Follin contrasted additive manufacturing with traditional approaches: "The Department of Defense estimates that to rebuild stockpiles with existing systems would take more than 13 years and $430 billion, which is time and money we just don't have. But additive manufacturing can help solve that challenge."
The technology's flexibility enables rapid adaptation to changing defense priorities. Follin explained: "The 3D printer doesn't care what it's printing. It can print keychains one day and print jet engines the next day. It doesn't care, right? It doesn't have a memory. It's not targeted for anything specifically. The other advantage of that is as priorities for the DoD change, we can change what that capacity is being used for."
Additive manufacturing also enables distributed production capabilities that could revolutionize allied cooperation. Follin noted: "Once you have a design and once you've kind of validated how to manufacture it, there's 3D printers all over the world, right? So in a time where there's a surge, we can take the design, we could export it to a DoD facility or another industrial facility, and they could make the design from our design just by putting it in their printer."
5. DPA Title III Funding is Being Strategically Deployed to Secure High-Temperature Alloys and Strategic Materials Essential for Advanced Manufacturing
The hearing revealed how DPA investments are targeting the critical materials that enable advanced manufacturing, particularly high-temperature alloys essential for aerospace and defense applications. Follin identified key vulnerabilities: "Most of the world's titanium comes from Russia and China, unfortunately. And titanium is a really common alloy in aerospace products. It's pretty high temperature capable. It's lightweight."
He detailed a particularly critical dependency: "There's an element called rhenium, which doesn't exist in nature. The only way you can get it is from the smelting of copper. And that rhenium is really what is like the secret ingredient in a turbine blade, which is the most critical component of a jet engine."
This dependency connects directly to domestic capabilities. Moore noted that North Carolina has "one of the very few copper smelting and refining facilities in the United States" that "produces 100% of copper, pure copper from copper scrap," highlighting the limited domestic processing infrastructure for these critical materials.
Faxon emphasized that DPA funding must address material stockpiling to ensure manufacturing readiness: "Our solution for this is not nearly as sexy and everyone who says just in time is going to hate this. What we proposed in the DPA funding is not only for the equipment but for buffer stock of material because the lead time is months, months in some cases. So if we put a beautiful factory together and don't have material we're going to twiddle our thumbs."
He continued: "So that one-time buffer to feed out of and feed into would be my suggestion because we don't have the versatility on some things, but we would build buffer stock and DPA funding would be key for that."
Key Legislation
The committee frequently discussed reauthorizing the DPA before its authorities expire on Sept. 30, 2025. While specific legislation was not referenced in the hearing, potential legislative vehicles to do so could be H.R. 4609, a bill introduced on July 22, 2025 by Rep. Gary J. Palmer (R‑AL‑06) or S. 1452, a bill introduced on April 10, 2025 by Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC).
- H.R. 4609: The Republican bill would extend the authority to carry out the Defense Production Act of 1950 from Sept. 30, 2025 to Sept. 30, 2031 — a six-year extension. Currently, Palmer is the lone sponsor of H.R. 4609.
- S. 1452: The bipartisan bill would extend the authority to carry out the Defense Production Act of 1950 from Sept. 30, 2025 to Sept. 30, 2026 — a simple one-year extension. Currently, both Scott and Warren are co-sponsors of the bill.
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