CLEAR (Committee Leadership and Enhanced Accountability for Resilience) Defense Production Act of 2025
- Bill Number
- H.R. 3542
- Origin Chamber
- House
- Congress
- 119th Congress, Session 1
- Policy Area
- Government Operations and Politics
- Status
- Introduced
- Latest Action
- 2025-05-21: Referred to the House Committee on Financial Services.
- Last Updated
- 2026-06-11T23:41:32Z
AI-Generated Summary
Purpose of the Legislation
The CLEAR (Committee Leadership and Enhanced Accountability for Resilience) Defense Production Act of 2025 aims to strengthen the oversight, coordination, and transparency of the Defense Production Act of 1950 (DPA). The DPA is a law that gives the President broad powers to direct production and allocation of goods and services for national defense during emergencies. This bill focuses on improving how federal agencies use these powers by enhancing a key committee and creating a public-facing database to track their application.
Key Provisions
- Improvements to the Defense Production Act Committee (Section 2):
- Expands the committee's role to cover all DPA authorities, not just priorities and allocations (e.g., directing contracts or seizing materials for defense needs).
- Designates a full-time Senior Executive Service (SES) employee from the Department of Commerce as chairperson, who reports directly to the Secretary of Commerce and leads coordination efforts.
- Requires the Secretary of Commerce to provide staff, resources, and budget support for the committee.
- Mandates each federal agency delegated DPA powers to appoint an SES coordinator to work with the chairperson.
- Updates the committee's annual report to include reviews of all agency uses of DPA powers and recommendations for effective, policy-aligned implementation.
- Requires the chairperson to inform committee members about meeting schedules, information-sharing needs, and planning for DPA use.
- Comptroller General Report (Section 2(b)):
- Within 2 years of enactment, the Government Accountability Office (Comptroller General) must report to congressional committees on the committee's coordination quality, information sharing, areas needing more attention, and improvement suggestions.
- Establishment of the DPA Registry (Section 3):
- The Secretary of Commerce, through the committee chairperson, must create a secure online database (DPA Registry) within 1 year to record all federal uses of DPA authorities starting from 1 year before enactment.
- Agencies must enter initial data within 180 days of the registry's creation and update it quarterly, including details on why and how each authority was used to support national defense.
- The registry must be protected against cyber threats and structured for tiered access: full for federal and congressional users, limited public access to non-sensitive information to balance transparency and security.
Significant Changes to Existing Law
- Broadens the DPA Committee's scope from focusing mainly on "priorities and allocations" (e.g., ordering supplies ahead of others) to all DPA tools, promoting comprehensive oversight.
- Introduces a dedicated, high-level chairperson role with direct reporting to the Commerce Secretary, replacing a more informal structure.
- Adds mandatory agency coordinators and resource guarantees, which were not previously required.
- Creates an entirely new DPA Registry (new Section 724), mandating retroactive and ongoing reporting—previously, DPA uses were tracked informally without a centralized, public-accessible system.
- Shifts reporting language to emphasize "effective use" aligned with DPA's policy goals, like minimizing government interference in the economy.
Potential Impacts
- On Government Agencies: Increases administrative burdens through required reporting and coordination but improves inter-agency planning, potentially leading to more efficient use of DPA powers during crises (e.g., faster response to supply shortages for defense or public health).
- On Citizens: Enhances public transparency by allowing limited access to how taxpayer-funded defense powers are used, fostering accountability without revealing sensitive details; could build trust in government emergency actions.
- On International Relations: Indirectly supports U.S. national defense readiness, which might strengthen alliances by ensuring reliable domestic production of critical goods (e.g., munitions or medical supplies), but no direct changes to foreign policy or trade.
Main Stakeholders Affected
- Federal Agencies: Especially those delegated DPA powers (e.g., Departments of Defense, Health and Human Services, Commerce), required to report and coordinate more rigorously.
- Department of Commerce and DPA Committee: Gains leadership and resources to oversee implementation.
- Congress: Receives enhanced reports for oversight, particularly the House Financial Services and Senate Banking Committees.
- The Public: Benefits from greater transparency on government actions affecting the economy and defense.
- Businesses and Contractors: May face indirect effects through better-coordinated government demands under DPA, potentially reducing unpredictability in contracts.
Notable Legal, Constitutional, or Political Implications
- Legal: Reinforces existing DPA framework without expanding presidential powers, but adds enforceable reporting requirements that could lead to audits or disputes over "sensitive" information classification; ensures compliance with federal data security standards.
- Constitutional: Aligns with Congress's oversight role under Article I (spending and delegation of powers), promoting checks on executive emergency authorities without infringing on separation of powers.
- Political: Emphasizes resilience and accountability in national defense, potentially reducing misuse perceptions during partisan debates; the 1-year retroactive tracking could spark reviews of recent DPA uses (e.g., in pandemics or conflicts), influencing future emergency policy discussions.
This summary was generated by AI and may contain inaccuracies. Refer to the official source document for the authoritative text.
Sponsor
Cosponsors (1)
Recent Actions
- 2025-05-21: Referred to the House Committee on Financial Services.
- 2025-05-21: Introduced in House
- 2025-05-21: Introduced in House
Bill Versions
- CLEAR (Committee Leadership and Enhanced Accountability for Resilience) Defense Production Act of 2025 — issued 2025-05-21 — PDF (10 pages)