{"id":54714,"date":"2020-05-02T13:00:33","date_gmt":"2020-05-02T13:00:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2020\/05\/02\/interview-ndias-wesley-hallman-on-a-liability-shield-and-other-defense-priorities-for-the-next-stimulus\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T00:01:21","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T00:01:21","slug":"interview-ndias-wesley-hallman-on-a-liability-shield-and-other-defense-priorities-for-the-next-stimulus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/congress\/2020\/05\/02\/interview-ndias-wesley-hallman-on-a-liability-shield-and-other-defense-priorities-for-the-next-stimulus\/","title":{"rendered":"NDIA\u2019s Wesley Hallman on a liability shield and other defense priorities for the next stimulus"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

WASHINGTON\u2015As the Pentagon works to defray the coronavirus pandemic\u2019s impact on its network of suppliers, it\u2019s worked hand-in-glove with defense and aerospace trade associations to find and address problems in the supply chain. The National Defense Industrial Association, whose members stretch into the lower tiers of the defense industrial base, surveyed<\/a> more than 700 small businesses to find that cash-flow disruptions remained a problem as the Pentagon and major defense firms increase payments to suppliers<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Retired Air Force Col. Wesley Hallman is NDIA\u2019s senior vice president of policy, charged with monitoring Capitol Hill on matters of concern to defense, including annual budgets, acquisition and procurement reform. This week, he spoke with Defense News about NDIA\u2019s priorities as Congress mulls how to follow its third coronavirus response bill<\/a>, worth $2.2 trillion and intended to speed relief across the American economy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With NDIA\u2019s finger on the pulse of the supply chain and recent<\/b> survey, how do you interpret the Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment Ellen Lord\u2019s <\/b>numbers<\/b><\/a>, demonstrating more defense firms that have closed now reopening? What are you seeing among your members?<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n

As you know, A&S has been holding a call on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, and we\u2019ve been participating in all of those. The Defense Contract Management Agency has really been the clearinghouse for all these companies\u2019 challenges, and in fact we\u2019ve been pushing our member companies that are seeing challenges to go to the website and fill in information about what their challenges are what they\u2019re seeing. And DoD has been responsive when something has closed down for whatever reason. Undersecretary Lord herself has picked up the phone to make calls to state governors to explain that we work very hard to ensure that the defense industrial base is considered essential. That was a question when people were starting to call for shelters in place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The very issues these companies have been seeing are things you\u2019re expecting: the result of closures, and sometimes those closures aren\u2019t state and local but on installations. Many contractors have to go to work on installations, and installation commanders are the mayors of their bases; they\u2019re tasked with the safety and security of their installations, and sometimes they\u2019ve made the call to close facilities that have an effect on those performing contracts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There\u2019s also a growing concern on liability. There\u2019s uncertainty surrounding contractors\u2019 liability during the crisis for heeding calls to keep everything turned on. They also have to make sure that they\u2019re keeping their workforce safe and secure, and sometimes that\u2019s an issue as you look at reopening everything. Our last NDIA survey was really about what kind of things do you need to reopen to get to a new normal, where we\u2019re producing on contracts. Access to personal protective equipment is a concern, safety is a concern and more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

DCMA has been following up with those companies to see what those issues are and what would allow them to reopen. We all know the supply chain \u2015 and I\u2019m sure you remember our report<\/a> on the health of the defense industrial base at the beginning of the year \u2015 but one of the things we highlighted is we have a relatively fragile supply chain already. This is a concern of the associations, the Pentagon and particular House Armed Services Committee members.<\/p>\n\n\n\t