U.S. Rep. Bill Pascrell, Jr. (D-NJ-09) has joined leaders in the House of Representatives and Senate calling on the Biden administration to take aggressive steps to safeguard national security and American supply chains. Specifically, the members urge President Biden to issue an Executive Order to protect American workers and advance U.S. economic security interests. 

The letter is signed by Rep. Pascrell, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA-12), Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-NY), Sens. Bob Casey (D-PA), John Cornyn (R-TX), and Reps. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT-03), Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA-01) and Victoria Spartz (R-IN-05).

“When we cede our manufacturing power and technological know-how to foreign adversaries, we are hurting our economy, our global competitiveness, American workers, industry and national security. Government action on this front is long overdue to address the scope and magnitude of these serious risks we face as a country,” the members write President Biden.

Several of the members including Pascrell are lead sponsors of the National Critical Capabilities Defense Act, which will create a National Critical Capabilities Committee (NCCC), which will be empowered to review and block certain U.S. production offshoring, development, or manufacturing of identified critical national capabilities being made within adversarial nations including China and Russia. The legislation encompasses the production of medical supplies and medicines, articles essential to the electrical grid, and areas vital to U.S. national security, among others. The National Critical Capabilities Defense Act was included in the trade title of the America Creating Opportunities for Manufacturing, Pre-Eminence in Technology and Economic Strength Act (America COMPETES Act) that passed the House of Representatives on February 4, 2022.

The text of the members’ letter is below.

September 26, 2022 

President Biden 

The White House 

Dear President Biden: 

We write to you as the bipartisan and bicameral supporters of the National Critical Capabilities Defense Act (S. 1854 and H.R. 6323). We championed this legislation to enhance visibility on supply chain vulnerabilities and to prevent the offshoring of critical production capacity and intellectual property to our foreign adversaries, including the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and the Russian Federation, that threatens American workers and our national security. Through input and support received from stakeholders and your Administration, the sponsors are revising this bill to help the U.S. government strengthen national security and ensure the resilience of our critical supply chains through increased transparency and oversight over outbound investments. 

We appreciate your Administration’s support for our efforts. While we believe that this revised legislation provides the U.S. with the strongest foundation to compete in a global economy, American workers, businesses and our national security cannot afford to wait. As deliberations continue in Congress, we urge your Administration to move forward with executive action—which can then be bolstered by statutory provisions—to safeguard our national security and supply chain resiliency on outbound investments to foreign adversaries. This is how the oversight of inbound foreign investment was initially established—Executive Order. 

This is an effort we have long supported and advocated for as lawmakers. Such action should include robust stakeholder engagement and congressional input and oversight from the committees of jurisdiction to provide certainty and clarity for all involved. 

The pandemic shined a spotlight on just how exposed U.S. supply chains are and the severe cost of relying on foreign adversaries for our Nation’s critical capabilities. The PRC, for example, has an egregious track record of promoting intellectual property theft and forced technology transfer. While this unsettling trend is not new, we know action is needed to address vulnerabilities for many sectors of our economy so that we can advance U.S. national and economic security interests. 

When we cede our manufacturing power and technological know-how to foreign adversaries, we are hurting our economy, our global competitiveness, American workers, industry and national security. Government action on this front is long overdue to address the scope and magnitude of these serious risks we face as a country. 

Thank you for your consideration. We look forward to working with the Administration to safeguard our Nation’s critical capabilities. We hope that you will keep us updated about the Administration’s proposals on this important effort as they are being developed. 

Sincerely,