Defense Production Act DPA

Congress passed the Defense Production Act on September 8, 1950, during the Korean War, drawing on World War II powers. Title I lets the President require companies to accept and give priority to contracts needed for national defense and to allocate scarce materials. Title III allows loans, loan guarantees, purchase commitments, and subsidies to expand domestic production of critical goods. The law's section 721 is the basis for the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, which reviews foreign purchases of American companies.

The Defense Department uses Title I priority ratings on hundreds of thousands of contracts every year. Presidents of both parties have used the law in emergencies: to speed production of ventilators, masks, and vaccines during the COVID-19 pandemic, to increase baby formula supplies in 2022, and to expand production of critical minerals, batteries, and clean energy equipment. Title III has funded domestic production of rare earths, munitions, and microelectronics.

Most of the law expires unless Congress renews it. It lapsed briefly in late 2025 before the defense authorization law for fiscal 2026 extended it to September 30, 2026. Debates over reauthorization involve whether it should fund clean energy, how much power it gives the President over private companies, and how it fits with newer tools such as Pentagon lending and direct government stakes in companies.