HR3542-119

What This Bill Does

The CLEAR Defense Production Act of 2025 amends the Defense Production Act Committee. The Committee chairperson must be a senior, full-time Department of Commerce Senior Executive Service employee selected by the Commerce Secretary, report directly to the Secretary on DPA and Committee matters, lead the Committee as the chairperson's primary job responsibility, and tell members what meeting frequency, meeting content, and agency information-sharing are expected. Commerce must provide the chairperson staff and resources and submit funding requests for the Committee in the President's budget. Each agency or establishment with delegated DPA authority must designate a Senior Executive Service coordinator within 90 days. GAO must report within two years to House Financial Services and Senate Banking on the quality of Committee coordination, information supplied by the chair, DPA authorities needing more Committee attention, and recommendations. The bill also creates a secure electronic DPA Registry within one year, run by Commerce through the Committee chairperson. The registry must identify each federal agency use of DPA authority from one year before enactment forward, explain why and how the authority supported national defense, require agencies to enter data within 180 days and update quarterly, protect the system from cyber attack and manipulation, support different access levels for federal, congressional, and public users, and maximize transparency while withholding sensitive national-security information.

Who Benefits and How

Congress benefits from GAO review and a registry showing how agencies use Defense Production Act authorities. The Commerce Department benefits because the Committee chair, staffing, registry, and budget requests are centralized there. Federal agencies with DPA authority benefit from clearer meeting, coordination, and information-sharing expectations. The public benefits from a DPA Registry that provides transparency where national security allows.

Who Bears the Burden and How

Federal agencies using DPA authorities must designate senior coordinators, enter registry data, and update it quarterly. The Defense Production Act Committee chairperson must lead the Committee as a primary job responsibility and manage information demands. Commerce staff must build and secure the DPA Registry and support access controls. GAO must conduct a two-year review of Committee coordination and DPA authority use.

Key Provisions

• Creates a full-time Commerce Senior Executive Service chairperson for the Defense Production Act Committee.
• Requires delegated DPA agencies to designate senior executive coordinators within 90 days.
• Requires GAO to report on DPA Committee coordination, information sharing, and authorities needing attention.
• Establishes a secure DPA Registry within one year covering agency DPA uses from one year before enactment forward.
• Requires agency data entry within 180 days and quarterly updates while allowing national-security access limits.