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American Made Advocacy: Congress Back from Break With Work To Do

As Washington wakes up after the August Congressional recess, leaders from both sides of the aisle confront a host of serious policy challenges. 

One of the challenges is reauthorizing the Defense Production Act (DPA), a U.S. law that gives the president broad authority to influence the domestic industrial base to support national defense and emergency preparedness. It allows the government to prioritize contracts, allocate resources, and provide financial incentives to expand production capacity for critical goods and services during times of national emergency or for national defense purposes. 

In 2023, the White House designated PCBs and integrated circuit substrates as critical national technologies, a move that cut red tape and opened the door to direct government investment.

Since that announcement nearly three years ago, our industry has seen the benefit of DPA funding. Because the Department of Defense relies on secure and trusted PCBs, more than $118 million has been granted to PCB companies. New facilities and capabilities are coming online in Michigan, New York, and New Hampshire. This is an important first step, but the investments that must follow are now threatened on two fronts: 

1. DPA reauthorization is set to expire this year.
2. The FY2026 defense budget, as passed, contains no additional funds for PCB investments. 

This disconnect between stated Pentagon goals and budgetary reality is concerning. The Pentagon’s own industrial base study identified PCBs as a critical component for which we lack sufficient manufacturing capacity to meet projected needs. 

Even though America’s PCB manufacturers celebrate the investments of the last few years, we’re concerned that the defense budget does not match Congressional sentiment. Here is what Congress said about PCBs in the report tied to this year’s defense appropriations:  

“The Committee recognizes supply chain vulnerabilities for printed circuit boards [PCBs] are part of a strong domestic manufacturing defense industrial base, and that continued action is needed to expand domestic PCB production capabilities to avert a crucial technology item shortfall that would severely impair our national defense capability. The Committee supports the Secretary of Defense’s initial investments in substrate and PCB manufacturing through the Defense Production Act and encourages the Secretary of Defense to continue investments in this key technology area.”

Military leaders depend on the Defense Industrial Base to maintain and scale up production of systems that require trusted and secure PCBs. The DPA is the perfect vehicle to provide these critical components. 

Investments in our industrial base, whether it be critical minerals, shipyards, or PCB capacity, are needed to ensure our warfighters have the systems they need today and in the future. Reauthorizing and then funding the DPA is a key enabler to meet national defense goals. I urge Congress and our military leaders to take action to correct this disconnect between strategy and budgetary priorities. A resilient and responsive defense industrial base depends on this alignment. PCBAA will be meeting with members of Congress and their staffs along with key officials at the Pentagon to make our industry’s voice heard. 

We have an opportunity to influence the future of our industry in the year ahead. We welcome new members and new voices across our industry to support this very important mission. Learn more today at www.pcbaa.org.

This column originally appeared in the September 2025 issue of PCB007 Magazine.