Katko on Supply Chain Resilience: Economic Security is Homeland Security

WASHINGTON, DC – Rep. John Katko (R-NY), Ranking Member of the House Homeland Security Committee, released the following statement on President Biden’s executive order aimed at strengthening our nation’s critical supply chains.

“Economic security is homeland security. Safeguarding the 16 critical infrastructure sectors is a core aspect of the homeland security mission that impacts a wide range of industries vital in the daily lives of Americans. Small and medium-sized businesses represent the most critical segments of our nation’s supply chain and are the very heartbeat of the American economy.

“At the onset of the pandemic, we witnessed firsthand the breakdown in our supply chain when federal, state, and local entities had to compete with one another for simple personal protective equipment. It was a terrifying glimpse into a future situation that has the potential to be mimicked on a larger, more dangerous scale. Many of our medical and critical technology supply chains are overly beholden to nation-states that don’t share our values. Building domestic resilience in these supply chains is an important homeland security mission.

“While I am encouraged to see President Biden take these actions to fortify our nation’s supply chains, I am concerned there is no indication of a robust role for the Department of Homeland Security to play in this effort. The agencies responsible, as outlined in the executive order, lack the holistic understanding of cross-sector risk to domestic infrastructure. If we are going to do this, let’s do this right. DHS has the experience and capability to carry out this undertaking and provide critical value integrating the overall assessment.

“As always, I welcome the opportunity to work with the Biden Administration to ensure the resilience of our critical supply chains and a shift away from the dependence on aggressive nation-states.”

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