Grayson Military Supply Chain Amendment Passes House of Representatives
Legislation Requires Examination of Vulnerabilities in Military Supplies Procurement
(WASHINGTON, D.C.) – Congressman Alan Grayson (FL-09) today passed an amendment to H.R. 1960, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2014. Grayson’s amendment requires the Department of Defense (DOD) to submit a report to Congress examining vulnerabilities in the military procurement supply chain. Grayson’s amendment passed the House unanimously, by a voice vote.
Under Grayson’s amendment, the DOD will submit a report on how the military obtains its supplies, which will help the military ensure that it is fully-prepared for a variety of emergencies.
“In the event of an emergency, nothing would be worse than discovering that a supplier on whom our military relies for equipment suddenly cannot provide us with the materials we need,” Grayson said. “Evaluating weaknesses in our military’s supply chain is essential to identifying the vulnerabilities we may face.”
Grayson presented his amendment in yesterday’s Rules Committee hearing, saying that the military is increasingly reliant on sole source suppliers. “As time goes on, these single sources become more and more subject to vulnerabilities because of military attack, or terrorism, or natural disasters, industrial shock, financial crisis, or geopolitical crisis, such as an embargo….This amendment simply calls upon the military to study and report on its own vulnerabilities and its own procurement supply chain,” he said.
Congressman Alan Grayson represents Florida’s 9th Congressional District, which includes Osceola County, as well as parts of Orange and Polk counties. He previously served as the U.S. Representative for Florida's 8th Congressional District in the 111th Congress.
