	Introduction

The Defense Production Act of 1950, as amended (DPA), provides the President a broad set of authorities to ensure that domestic industry can meet national defense requirements. Through the DPA, the President can, among other activities, prioritize contracts for goods and services, and offer incentives within the domestic market to enhance the production and supply of critical materials and technologies when necessary for national defense. Since 1950, the DPA has been reauthorized over 50 times by Congress, most recently in 2009. H.R. 4809 would reauthorize the DPA for five years and would reform other provisions, as discussed later in the report. Committee Jurisdiction

Though commonly associated with industrial production for the Department of Defense (DOD), the DPA currently lies within the jurisdiction of the House Committee on Financial Services and the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs. However, upon passage of P.L. 111-67 on September 30, 2009. 13603, National Defense Resource Preparedness . The section highlights substantive changes made to these authorities in the Defense Production Act Reauthorization of 2009 (Reauthorization of 2009). Therefore, the use of DPA authorities extends beyond shaping U.S. military preparedness and capabilities, as the authorities may also be used to enhance and support domestic preparedness, response, and recovery from hazards, terrorist attacks, and other national emergencies, among other purposes. In its original 1950 form, the DPA defined national defense as "the operations and activities of the armed forces, the Atomic Energy Commission, or any other department or agency directly or indirectly and substantially concerned with the national defense.... " Over the many reauthorizations and amendments to the DPA, Congress has gradually expanded the scope of the definition of national defense, and did so again in 2009. Authorities under Title I of the DPA

			Priorities and Allocations Authority

Section 101(a) of Title I of the DPA states:
The President is authorized (1) to require that performance under contracts or orders (other than contracts of employment) which he deems necessary or appropriate to promote the national defense shall take priority over performance under any other contract or order, and, for the purpose of assuring such priority, to require acceptance and performance of such contracts or orders in preference to other contracts or orders by any person he finds to be capable of their performance, and (2) to allocate materials, services, and facilities in such manner, upon such conditions, and to such extent as he shall deem necessary or appropriate to promote the national defense. While the priorities authority is used far less frequently by other departments and agencies, it has been used for both the prevention of terrorism and natural disaster preparedness. These authorities include, but are not limited to:
purchasing or making purchase commitments of industrial resources or critical technology items; making subsidized payments for domestically produced materials; and installing and purchasing equipment for industrial facilities to expand their productive capacity. Prior to being struck from the statute by the 2009 reauthorization, the President's determination requirement under this section also included the conditions that
purchases, purchase commitments, or other action pursuant to this section are the most cost effective, expedient, and practical alternative method for meeting the need; and
the combination of the United States national defense demand and foreseeable nondefense demand for the industrial resource or critical technology item is not less than the output of domestic industrial capability, as determined by the President, including the output to be established through the purchase, purchase commitment, or other action. In addition, the law previously contained a limitation on the amount of money that could be spent on actions to rectify a domestic industrial base shortfall. Title III of the DPA also establishes a Treasury account, the Defense Production Act Fund, that is available to carry out all of the provisions and purposes of Title III. §2751, et seq.) Issues for Congress

		Reauthorization of the DPA in the 113th Congress

All DPA authorities in Titles I, III, and VII are scheduled to terminate on September 30, 2014, with the exception of four sections. Appx. §2170, Section 721 of the DPA, the so-called Exon-Florio Amendment, that gives the President and CFIUS review authority over certain corporate acquisition activities. H.R. 4809 passed the House under suspension of the rules on July 29, 2014. Section 2 of the bill would make several revisions to the Defense Production Act Committee (DPAC), which was established in the Reauthorization of 2009 and is currently authorized in Section 722 of the DPA. Similarly, a rulemaking requirement exists for the voluntary agreement authority in Title VII.
The Defense Production Act (DPA) of 1950 (P.L. 81-774, 50 U.S.C. Appx §2061 et seq.), as amended, confers upon the President a broad set of authorities to influence domestic industry in the interest of national defense. The authorities can be used across the federal government to shape the domestic industrial base so that, when called upon, it is capable of providing essential materials and goods needed for the national defense.
Though initially passed in response to the Korean War, the DPA is historically based on the War Powers Acts of World War II. Gradually, Congress has expanded the term national defense, as defined in the DPA, so that it now includes activities related to homeland security and domestic emergency management. The scope of DPA authorities extends beyond shaping U.S. military preparedness and capabilities, as the authorities may also be used to enhance and support domestic preparedness, response, and recovery from natural hazards, terrorist attacks, and other national emergencies.
The current authorities of the DPA include, but are not limited to:
Title I: Priorities and Allocations, which allows the President to require persons (including businesses and corporations) to prioritize and accept contracts for materials and services as necessary to promote the national defense. Title III: Expansion of Productive Capacity and Supply, which allows the President to incentivize the domestic industrial base to expand the production and supply of critical materials and goods. Authorized incentives include loans, loan guarantees, direct purchases and purchase commitments, and the authority to procure and install equipment in private industrial facilities. Title VII: General Provisions, which includes key definitions for the DPA and several distinct authorities, including the authority to establish voluntary agreements with private industry; the authority to block proposed or pending foreign corporate mergers, acquisitions, or takeovers that threaten national security; and the authority to employ persons of outstanding experience and ability and to establish a volunteer pool of industry executives who could be called to government service in the interest of the national defense.
The authorities of the DPA are generally afforded to the President in statute. The President, in turn, has delegated these authorities to department and agency heads in Executive Order 13603, National Defense Resource Preparedness, issued in 2012. While the authorities are most frequently used by, and commonly associated with, the Department of Defense, they can be, and have been, used by numerous other executive departments and agencies. The DPA lies within the jurisdiction of the House Committee on Financial Services and the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.
Nearly all DPA authorities will terminate on September 30, 2014, though a few, such as the Exon-Florio Amendment (which established government review of the acquisition of U.S. companies by foreigners) and anti-trust protections for certain voluntary industry agreements, have been made permanent. Since 1950, the DPA has been reauthorized over 50 times, though significant authorities were terminated from the original law in 1953. Congress last reauthorized the DPA in 2009 (P.L. 111-67, the Defense Production Act Reauthorization of 2009). This reauthorization amended some of the current DPA authorities and extended the termination of the act by five years.
H.R. 4809, as passed by the House under suspension of the rules on July 29, 2014, would reauthorize the DPA until September 30, 2019. Among other changes, H.R. 4809 would reform the purpose and structure of the Defense Production Act Committee (DPAC), emphasize an existing rulemaking requirement for Title I priorities and allocations authority, and restore several limitations on the President's Title III authorities that were removed in the Defense Production Act Reauthorization of 2009. The bill would also authorize appropriations for the carrying out of the provisions and purposes of this act in the amount of $133 million every fiscal year beginning in FY2015.