[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 158 (Thursday, September 29, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5929-S5930]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

  SA 6409. Mr. WARNER submitted an amendment intended to be proposed to 
amendment SA 5499 submitted by Mr. Reed (for himself and Mr. Inhofe) 
and intended to be proposed to the bill H.R. 7900, to authorize 
appropriations for

[[Page S5930]]

fiscal year 2023 for military activities of the Department of Defense, 
for military construction, and for defense activities of the Department 
of Energy, to prescribe military personnel strengths for such fiscal 
year, and for other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as 
follows:

        At the end of subtitle G of title X, add the following:

     SEC. 1077. SENSE OF SENATE ON INVESTMENT IN WORKFORCE OF 
                   DEFENSE INDUSTRIAL BASE.

       (a) Findings.--Congress makes the following findings:
       (1) Global supply chain disruptions have become more 
     common, with recent events highlighting risks and 
     vulnerabilities that undermine the national security of the 
     United States.
       (2) The February 2022 report of the Department of Defense 
     entitled ``Securing Defense-Critical Supply Chains: An action 
     plan developed in response to President Biden's Executive 
     Order 14017'' and the 2022 industrial capabilities report of 
     the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Industrial Base Policy 
     each outline strategic focus areas and enabling capabilities, 
     and associated vulnerabilities, and provide recommendations 
     to strengthen the defense industrial base.
       (3) The Department of Defense relies on a skilled workforce 
     to innovate, produce, and sustain weapon systems.
       (4) Decades of erosion across workforce development 
     pipelines jeopardize and threaten the United States 
     industrial base's ability to remain competitive.
       (5) The Department of Defense has expressed that a focus 
     area for investment in fiscal year 2023 will be efforts that 
     continue to focus on recruitment, training, and placing 
     skilled workers in support of defense priorities and in 
     support of priority defense programs.
       (6) The stated primary effort by the Department of Defense 
     will be a major, multi-year, endeavor with the Navy, focused 
     on ensuring the health and capacity of the submarine 
     workforce of the Department of Defense.
       (7) The Industrial Base Analysis and Sustainment program, 
     in partnership with the Navy submarine enterprise, has stated 
     an intent to invest in the development of the necessary 
     training and education programs of the industrial base, with 
     the aim of creating sufficient capability to provide a 
     ``ready to work'', high-skill workforce at the production 
     levels needed to meet the nuclear submarine modernization 
     requirements of the Navy.
       (b) Sense of Senate.--It is the sense of the Senate that--
       (1) the Department of Defense should continue investment in 
     the National Imperative for Industrial Skills Initiative; and
       (2) accelerate efforts to expand pilot programs under that 
     Initiative as part of a broader push to set up networks of 
     at-scale regional workforce training centers around the 
     United States.
                                 ______