{"id":17927,"date":"2018-07-17T17:48:35","date_gmt":"2018-07-17T17:48:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/uncategorized\/2018\/07\/17\/why-circuit-board-production-is-an-issue-in-the-annual-defense-bill\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T18:09:06","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T18:09:06","slug":"why-circuit-board-production-is-an-issue-in-the-annual-defense-bill","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/industry\/2018\/07\/17\/why-circuit-board-production-is-an-issue-in-the-annual-defense-bill\/","title":{"rendered":"Why circuit board production is an issue in the annual defense bill"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

WASHINGTON \u2014 A proposal in the House version of the annual defense policy bill would eliminate an oversight requirement related to the printed circuit board industry, pitting defense acquisition reform efforts against an industry claim that the move undermines an already shrinking base that is crucial to national security.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The House bill repeals a previous statutory requirement that the Department of Defense name an executive agent (EA) for printed circuit board technology. That role is to oversee the supply chain and \u201cfacilitate access to reliable, trusted, and affordable print circuit board fabrication” to meet future military requirements, according to a DoD description.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Senate version does not remove the requirement for an EA, and instead directs the EA to conduct a report for the secretary of defense on the \u201chealth of the defense electronics industrial base,\u201d according to the bill language. The Senate legislation also includes a call for \u201ca plan to formalize long-term resourcing for the executive agent.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Circuit boards act as \u201croad maps\u201d for defense items ranging from F\u221235 planes<\/a> to missile guidance systems and in the wrong hands would allow enemies to \u201cunderstand, replicate, even sabotage\u201d American technologies, said Chris Mitchell, vice president of global government relations at the Association Connecting Electronics Industries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mitchell worries that the potential elimination of the position will shake the confidence of domestic circuit board producers and will hurt private research and development spending. He calls the language \u201ca symbolic punch in the gut to the industry.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a letter, Reps. Trey Hollingsworth, R-Ind., and Ro Khanna, D-Calif., urged House and Senate defense leaders to oppose the proposal in the must-pass bill, writing that \u201cfor the EA to be stripped of its statutory authority \u2026 would send a dispiriting signal to the U.S. printed circuit board industry by calling into question the government\u2019s commitment to a robust domestic defense electronic industry to serve DoD requirements.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The number of American circuit board producers has dropped from 500 in 2005 to fewer than 200 today due to global competition<\/a>, with the risk of reliance on foreign producers for sensitive tech motivating lawmakers to take notice of the issue, explained a staffer for Hollingsworth.<\/p>\n\n\n\t