Witnesses say U.S. industrial mobilization is limited; urge DPA reauthorization and renewed mobilization planning

At a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on defense mobilization, witnesses from government and industry testified that the United States remains ill-prepared to rapidly scale production for a prolonged or large-scale conflict and recommended immediate policy and planning changes.

The testimony focused on the Defense Production Act (DPA), industrial planning authorities, production scaling, and allied cooperation. Dr. Gerry McGinn said DPA reauthorization is essential and urged keeping DPA focused on national security uses; she highlighted Title 3 for purchase commitments and noted unused Title 7 authorities (sections 708 and 710) that could enable voluntary government‑industry agreements and a National Defense Executive Reserve. "DPA has had tremendous impact on rebuilding and reshoring industrial based capacity," McGinn said.

The concern matters because recent crises, especially the war in Ukraine, exposed U.S. shortfalls in producing artillery, precision munitions and other supplies at scale. Ranking Member Senator Reid and several witnesses said material and labor shortages remain the primary constraints on increasing production. "Our capacity to produce vast amounts of artillery shells, precision munitions, and other modern weapons in a rapid responsive way is much more limited than we realized," Reid said in opening remarks.

Dr. Christine McKenzie told the committee the defense industrial base (DIB) has been optimized for efficiency instead of resilience. She faulted acquisition decisions that prioritize lowest‑cost suppliers and short run production, which have left many critical items single‑ or sole‑sourced and sometimes sourced from foreign adversaries. "The industrial base has become optimized for efficiency and not resiliency," McKenzie said, adding that the department often treats supply‑chain symptoms rather than underlying acquisition choices. She highlighted obsolescence — the failure to plan and budget for parts that go out of production — as a recurring bottleneck that hampered munitions production early in the Ukraine conflict.

David Berto, speaking in a personal capacity, urged the committee to adopt the Cold War practice of defining operational scenarios and then aligning requirements and budgets to them. He said clear scenarios and exercises that demonstrate surge capacity helped secure long‑term funding in prior buildups and would help justify multiyear procurements and surge investments today. "We need that common understanding of what the scenario is," Berto told senators.

Witnesses recommended several concrete steps. McGinn urged congressional reauthorization of the DPA, enabling Title 3 purchase commitments (noting current procurement funding arrangements can prevent non‑expiring commitments), and reactivating Title 7 mechanisms to facilitate government‑industry collaboration. McKenzie recommended stronger use of directed sourcing, price preferences and contract selection to bring demand to secure suppliers, and requiring programs to plan and budget for obsolescence. Berto recommended operational planning tied to scenarios that would support multiyear buys, surge capacity and exercises to demonstrate deterrent production capability.

Senators pressed witnesses on implementation. Several senators asked whether DPA use should be narrowly limited to traditional national‑security items; witnesses agreed DPA is most effective when centered on defense needs. Senators also raised exportability and allied cooperation: McGinn and others argued that robust industrial partnerships with allies can expand capacity, but that building exportable systems requires upfront investment.

The hearing concluded with senators and witnesses emphasizing the need to restart formal mobilization planning across the federal government, strengthen demand signals (multiyear buys and purchase commitments), and update authorities to enable closer, pre‑crisis government‑industry collaboration. No formal committee actions or votes were taken at the hearing.