Bill Overview
Title: DPA Reform Act of 2022
Description: This bill modifies the Defense Production Act of 1950, including by requiring that there must be a declaration of war to exercise authority under the act.
Sponsors: Rep. Perry, Scott [R-PA-10]
Target Audience
Population: People working in industries related to defense production, healthcare, and critical infrastructure
Estimated Size: 30000000
- The Defense Production Act (DPA) primarily impacts industries related to national defense, energy, and critical infrastructure.
- The requirement for a declaration of war could restrict its use to only wartime scenarios, reducing its impact during peacetime crises like pandemics or natural disasters.
- This could affect contract workers, military personnel, and companies that produce defense-related goods.
- During peacetime, people who might be impacted by the DPA include healthcare workers and manufacturers of medical supplies when the DPA is invoked for public health crises.
Reasoning
- The DPA Reform Act of 2022 primarily impacts individuals and companies that are directly or indirectly involved with national defense, energy, and critical infrastructure.
- The restriction requiring a declaration of war can lead to significant alterations in contractual obligations, affecting industries even during peacetime emergencies.
- Conducting interviews can spotlight varying perspectives within these big groups, especially highlighting those dependent on DPA provisions during peacetime situations.
- The budget constraints and program size suggest that the impact of the changes will be noticeable primarily among people and firms who were currently frequent beneficiaries under the DPA.
Simulated Interviews
Defense Contractor (Portsmouth, Virginia)
Age: 34 | Gender: male
Wellbeing Before Policy: 7
Duration of Impact: 5.0 years
Commonness: 6/20
Statement of Opinion:
- The policy reform might create bureaucratic delays due to needing a war declaration.
- Certain contract opportunities may dry up as a result.
Wellbeing Over Time (With vs Without Policy)
| Year | With Policy | Without Policy |
|---|---|---|
| Year 1 | 6 | 7 |
| Year 2 | 6 | 7 |
| Year 3 | 5 | 7 |
| Year 5 | 5 | 7 |
| Year 10 | 6 | 7 |
| Year 20 | 7 | 7 |
Healthcare Supplies Manufacturer (Springfield, Illinois)
Age: 45 | Gender: female
Wellbeing Before Policy: 6
Duration of Impact: 3.0 years
Commonness: 5/20
Statement of Opinion:
- The change could hamper responses to health crises similar to COVID-19.
- The dependency on declarations of war isn't practical for healthcare supply demands.
Wellbeing Over Time (With vs Without Policy)
| Year | With Policy | Without Policy |
|---|---|---|
| Year 1 | 5 | 6 |
| Year 2 | 5 | 6 |
| Year 3 | 6 | 6 |
| Year 5 | 6 | 6 |
| Year 10 | 7 | 6 |
| Year 20 | 7 | 6 |
Software Engineer for Aerospace (Atlanta, Georgia)
Age: 29 | Gender: female
Wellbeing Before Policy: 8
Duration of Impact: 4.0 years
Commonness: 4/20
Statement of Opinion:
- The policy calls for a war declaration which could limit cybersecurity advancements.
- Cyber threats require immediate action, which might be delayed.
Wellbeing Over Time (With vs Without Policy)
| Year | With Policy | Without Policy |
|---|---|---|
| Year 1 | 7 | 8 |
| Year 2 | 7 | 8 |
| Year 3 | 6 | 8 |
| Year 5 | 7 | 8 |
| Year 10 | 8 | 9 |
| Year 20 | 8 | 9 |
Military Personnel (El Paso, Texas)
Age: 58 | Gender: male
Wellbeing Before Policy: 7
Duration of Impact: 1.0 years
Commonness: 3/20
Statement of Opinion:
- A requirement for war declarations could create bottlenecks in logistics and equipment distribution in crises.
- Domestic deployments for humanitarian aid might be impacted.
Wellbeing Over Time (With vs Without Policy)
| Year | With Policy | Without Policy |
|---|---|---|
| Year 1 | 7 | 7 |
| Year 2 | 7 | 7 |
| Year 3 | 6 | 7 |
| Year 5 | 6 | 7 |
| Year 10 | 7 | 7 |
| Year 20 | 7 | 7 |
Technology Entrepreneur (Seattle, Washington)
Age: 37 | Gender: male
Wellbeing Before Policy: 9
Duration of Impact: 7.0 years
Commonness: 3/20
Statement of Opinion:
- There is potential reduction in investment and innovation support without peace-time uses of DPA.
- Emerging defense technologies might face hurdles.
Wellbeing Over Time (With vs Without Policy)
| Year | With Policy | Without Policy |
|---|---|---|
| Year 1 | 8 | 9 |
| Year 2 | 8 | 9 |
| Year 3 | 7 | 10 |
| Year 5 | 6 | 10 |
| Year 10 | 6 | 9 |
| Year 20 | 8 | 9 |
Pharmaceutical Supply Chain Manager (Boston, Massachusetts)
Age: 26 | Gender: female
Wellbeing Before Policy: 5
Duration of Impact: 4.0 years
Commonness: 4/20
Statement of Opinion:
- Maintaining operational fluidity without DPA during non-war times might be challenging.
- Restructured management means a potential impact to medicine availability during emergencies.
Wellbeing Over Time (With vs Without Policy)
| Year | With Policy | Without Policy |
|---|---|---|
| Year 1 | 4 | 5 |
| Year 2 | 5 | 5 |
| Year 3 | 5 | 5 |
| Year 5 | 4 | 5 |
| Year 10 | 5 | 6 |
| Year 20 | 8 | 6 |
Retired - Former Military Analyst (San Diego, California)
Age: 62 | Gender: female
Wellbeing Before Policy: 6
Duration of Impact: 2.0 years
Commonness: 8/20
Statement of Opinion:
- Though now retired, I foresee the policy change could create gaps in defense production efficacy.
- Long-term advances might slow down without war-based DPA invocations.
Wellbeing Over Time (With vs Without Policy)
| Year | With Policy | Without Policy |
|---|---|---|
| Year 1 | 6 | 6 |
| Year 2 | 6 | 6 |
| Year 3 | 6 | 6 |
| Year 5 | 5 | 6 |
| Year 10 | 5 | 6 |
| Year 20 | 6 | 7 |
Automotive Parts Supplier (Detroit, Michigan)
Age: 41 | Gender: other
Wellbeing Before Policy: 7
Duration of Impact: 3.0 years
Commonness: 4/20
Statement of Opinion:
- Manufacturing could face a decline needing a war declaration to act on certain DPA provisions.
- Restrictions could mean a restructuring of production lines.
Wellbeing Over Time (With vs Without Policy)
| Year | With Policy | Without Policy |
|---|---|---|
| Year 1 | 6 | 7 |
| Year 2 | 7 | 7 |
| Year 3 | 7 | 8 |
| Year 5 | 7 | 8 |
| Year 10 | 7 | 8 |
| Year 20 | 8 | 8 |
Policy Researcher (Houston, Texas)
Age: 22 | Gender: female
Wellbeing Before Policy: 7
Duration of Impact: 1.0 years
Commonness: 2/20
Statement of Opinion:
- The policy change may not drastically affect everyday lives but could change strategic defense overviews.
- Research opportunities might expand owing to shifts in policy interpretation.
Wellbeing Over Time (With vs Without Policy)
| Year | With Policy | Without Policy |
|---|---|---|
| Year 1 | 7 | 7 |
| Year 2 | 7 | 7 |
| Year 3 | 7 | 8 |
| Year 5 | 7 | 8 |
| Year 10 | 8 | 8 |
| Year 20 | 9 | 9 |
Defense Systems Engineer (Huntsville, Alabama)
Age: 53 | Gender: male
Wellbeing Before Policy: 8
Duration of Impact: 5.0 years
Commonness: 3/20
Statement of Opinion:
- Requiring declarations of war could impinge on technological R&D cycles and defense readiness.
- National security strategies might need reevaluation under this policy.
Wellbeing Over Time (With vs Without Policy)
| Year | With Policy | Without Policy |
|---|---|---|
| Year 1 | 7 | 8 |
| Year 2 | 7 | 8 |
| Year 3 | 7 | 8 |
| Year 5 | 6 | 9 |
| Year 10 | 7 | 9 |
| Year 20 | 7 | 9 |
Cost Estimates
Year 1: $50000000 (Low: $30000000, High: $70000000)
Year 2: $51000000 (Low: $30500000, High: $71500000)
Year 3: $52020000 (Low: $31100000, High: $73000000)
Year 5: $53110000 (Low: $31800000, High: $74600000)
Year 10: $55790000 (Low: $33400000, High: $78700000)
Year 100: $108400000 (Low: $64800000, High: $147600000)
Key Considerations
- The DPA has traditionally been used in peacetime for public needs such as energy and healthcare supply chain interventions, greatly contributing to resilience against non-war crises.
- Restricting DPA usage strictly to wartime diminishes rapid federal response capability during peacetime emergencies, requiring alternative arrangements to be established.
- Administrative savings and costs will need to balance the preparedness level required, which could involve logistics and managing contracts for converting commercial supply chains to defense outputs efficiently.