We might be about to witness "the single biggest shot of adrenaline into U.S. manufacturing capacity since World War II," according to a new analysis of the defense supplementary bill working its way through the House.
On Friday, I gave readers a look at the elements involving national missile defense — President Donald Trump's "Golden Dome" — but there's so much more to it than that.
Aaron Slodov, analyst and creator of the REINDUSTRIALIZE summit, took a deeper look inside the $150 billion bill this weekend and found a lot to like.
More than 10% — $25 billion — is "aimed squarely at building things – new shipyard kit, missile lines, additive factories, depots, and the skilled-labor pipelines to run them." Another $10 billion is devoted to immediate needs like munitions, "everything from long-range anti-ship seekers to automated factory lines that print rounds like soda cans."
Also included are funds to "smash single-source chokepoints" that have bedeviled efforts to build munitions inventories since Russia shattered the European peace in 2022.
There's also what Slodov called a "buried gem." There's $1.5 billion in seed money incentivizing "up to $200b in loans/guarantees for industrial-base and critical-minerals projects." He describes it as "Export-Import Bank energy but for reshoring real stuff."
Emphasis added.
I cannot over-emphasize how important shipbuilding — civilian and military — is to our wealth and security. America's wealth was built on trade before we were the United States, and as I wrote previously, if you think having a Navy is expensive, try not having one. The bill includes the funds needed to expand our capacity, modernize existing capacity (China is FAR ahead of us both), and train the highly-paid skilled labor needed to make it all happen.
There's also money earmarked for deeply unsexy items that Congress usually prefers to avoid thinking about, but that are vital components of any effective military deterrent.
"All this runs until Fiscal Year 2029," Slodov wrote, "with a hard stop on outlays after FY34. Congress [is] forcing the Pentagon (and industry) to move fast."
Sierra Hotel, as my retired fighter-pilot father-in-law would say.
The message sent by this bill is a simple one: America is back.
Let me take you on two brief tangents.
I've warned for years that picking up the tab for neglecting our defense infrastructure for three decades wouldn't come cheap. But this bill — assuming it survives markup — does almost everything defense hawks could have asked for at a price tag less than we would have feared.
Japan hasn't had this problem. Whenever possible, Tokyo has preferred to source domestically or rely on trusted Western manufacturers. Poland, meanwhile, has spent the last three years rearming hard, training up, and buying the best kit from everybody from the U.S. to South Korea.
If peace fails in Europe and the Far East, it will be Japan and Poland that we'll lean on the most. Shocking, since the former was long committed to near-pacifism and the latter has been a military also-ran for 250 years.
When so many of your allies are slackers (cough, Britain, France, Germany, cough, cough), you want to give a shout-out to the ones pulling their weight.
There's too much misunderstanding about the size of manufacturing in the U.S. The value of manufactured goods has actually grown by 85% since NAFTA came into force on Jan. 1, 1994. But the economy has grown by nearly 2.5 times since then. So as a share of all economic output, manufacturing — and the skilled, better-paying jobs that go with it — has shrunk from about 16% of the entire economy in 1994 to slightly under 10% today.
So while it's hardly true that manufacturing has been hollowed out, millions of people missed out on better jobs that got moved abroad or never materialized here. Worse is how many of those jobs were in industries vital to national defense.
Tariffs alone, I keep reminding people, won't bring back those vital industries or jobs. But this bill just might provide the necessary kickstart.
Today might be a good day to call your congresscritters and let them know.
Recommended: Trump Might Be About to Make Reagan's Dream Come True
Editor’s Note: Do you enjoy PJ Media’s conservative reporting taking on the radical left and woke media? Support our work so that we can continue to bring you the truth. Join PJ Media VIP and use the promo code FIGHT to get 60% off your VIP membership!
Join the conversation as a VIP Member