WASHINGTON — Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester, D-Del., hosted a virtual meeting with Delaware stakeholders Tuesday to outline her bipartisan supply chain provisions in recently passed House Resolution 4521, the America COMPETES Act of 2022.

The provisions were originally included in HR 5495, the Building Resilient Supply Chains Act, and focus on improving America’s supply chains and onshoring the production of critical components of consumer goods.

The Building Resilient Supply Chains Act was introduced in October by Rep. Tom Malinowski, D-N.J., along with Rep. Blunt Rochester and Rep. Adam Kinzinger, D-Ill. It hasn’t yet been passed in the House, but pivotal provisions from the bill were included in the America COMPETES Act of 2022, which was passed in the House last month.

Rep. Blunt Rochester said that the America COMPETES Act of 2022 attempts to bolster America’s economic competitiveness and the provisions should spur an efficient process for the domestic manufacturing of critical goods.

“This bill will establish the Office of Manufacturing Security and Resilience within the Department of Commerce, responsible for leading a government-wide effort to strengthen supply chains critical to the nation’s economic vitality and national security,” Rep. Blunt Rochester said.

She said the Office of Manufacturing Security and Resilience will be responsible for mapping and monitoring supply chains while identifying gaps, vulnerabilities and risks within those chains.

The provisions from the Building Resilient Supply Chains Act authorize $45 million for the Office of Manufacturing Security and Resilience to give as grants and loans to fund the expansion of domestic manufacturing of critical goods and services, industrial equipment and manufacturing technology.

Supply chain issues have plagued many industries in America since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, however, Rep. Blunt Rochester said the issues were becoming apparent prior to the pandemic.

According to Rep. Malinowski’s October press release, items and materials like personal protective equipment, which saw a more than 1,000% price increase after demand spikes and supply shortages, as well as semiconductors, which were affected by production cutbacks at U.S. automakers and increased prices for consumers, were just some of the items plagued by supply chain issues.

Families, businesses owners and manufacturers shared a cause for concern over the effects the pandemic would have on their day-to-day operations and experiences, said Rep. Blunt Rochester, and recent world events have reignited a similar concern.

“A root cause for this concern is the decline of the American manufacturing sector because we are depending on other countries for many of these things,” Rep. Blunt Rochester said.

“The decline in our manufacturing capacity, coupled with the COVID-19 pandemic, has caused severe supply chain disruptions, lowering our nation’s ability to withstand and respond to economic shocks and national emergencies.”

Among other concerns, Rep. Blunt Rochester said that Russia’s attack on Ukraine has caused severe supply chain problems globally, especially at the gas pump. Inflation and issues along the global supply chain have come as a result of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s price hike, which Rep. Blunt Rochester points to as another reason why America should prioritize domestic production for critical goods.

The virtual discussion was attended by Delaware stakeholders including Dr. Paul Morris, associate vice president of Workforce Development and Community Education at Delaware Technical Community College; Ken Gomeringer, staff representative for United Steelworkers District 4; Shane Warren, head of Global Affairs at DuPont; Henrik Ancher Jensen, senior vice president for Agilent Technologies and president of its Order Fulfillment and Supply Chain; and Linda Parkowski, executive director for the Kent Economic Partnership.

Part of DelTech’s mission is to be responsive to the labor market, according to Dr. Morris, and in doing so, the college offers workforce development programs that cross-train students, equipping them with a skill set suited to a variety of careers.

Dr. Morris applauded Rep. Blunt Rochester’s efforts to improve the nation’s supply chain, stating that these changes will help encourage a new generation of workers in America’s manufacturing sector.

“Strengthening our supply chain will lead to increased economic vitality and the creation of jobs in our manufacturing sector that will be a great benefit to our state and nation as we move forward,” Dr. Morris said.

“If enacted, these provisions will provide new opportunities for all of us to enter jobs in manufacturing, while also mitigating our nation’s supply chain vulnerability.”

Mr. Gomeringer stated that steel workers have seen manufacturing jobs decrease as countries like China and Russia concentrated on supply chains, and that between 2001 and 2018, 3.7 million jobs were lost due to the American trade deficit. For these reasons, Mr. Gomeringer said, the provisions within the America COMPETES Act of 2022 are much needed.

“These funds would help support relocating manufacturing facilities back to the United States and out of countries like China and Russia. This would also ensure that the jobs coming back to the U.S. would be good, family sustaining jobs,” Mr. Gomeringer said.

Rep. Blunt Rochester said she is proud to attack these issues that were exacerbated by the pandemic, and hopes this supply chain legislation will result in an improved experience for citizens, businesses and manufacturers alike.

“It has real-world repercussions, everything from the cost of products being more expensive to the time it takes for things to get to us,” Rep. Blunt Rochester said.

“This is important for us as we are building a better America.”