Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1460418
72 PCB007 MAGAZINE I MARCH 2022 at allows emergency spending in areas where your capabilities might be blocked or where they need immediate attention. As an association, we can say for our indus- try that we believe the messages we have been delivering for a year and a half are really start- ing to resonate at the highest levels of govern- ment and with the decision-makers, to recog- nize that our industry needs demand signals and support. Johnson: Let's dive down into education legis- lation, etc. What are some of the programs that you have currently underway with PCBAA? How are you affecting this change in awareness? Marsh: ank you for that question. ey're really not programs, they're policies. For the last two cycles of the National Defense Autho- rization Act, the association has been focused on creating a debate and a discussion within the Department of Defense about dual use and COTS (commercial off-the-shelf ) depen- dencies on foreign supply chains, and putting in place acquisition regulations by January 1, 2027, that prohibit the Pentagon from buying printed circuit boards from Russia, Iran, North Korea, and China. at's important because a lot of the U.S. companies that have foreign sup- ply chains have recognized there's a demand signal for reshoring. But now there's a line in the sand, if you will, drawn by the Department of Defense. President Biden just signed into law the FY22 National Defense Authorization Act. Section 851 states that by January 1, 2027, DoD is prohibited from buying from those four countries for cer- tain defense security systems for commercial and dual use. at's a huge deal. It tells major suppliers—Honeywell, Microso, and others— that if you have foreign supply chains and you sell to the Department of Defense (which by the way, is the largest discretionary budget in the federal budget) you must think differently. To be clear, section 851 just says you can't buy from those four countries. It doesn't say you can't go to NATO allies; it doesn't say you shouldn't bring half that work home. But what we're seeing already is the commercial and dual use industry starting to raise their hand and say, "We recognize the 2027 issue, and we need to start having discussions with the domestic U.S. industry." Johnson: at creates scrutiny along the entire supply chain. Marsh: Absolutely. It's a ripple effect. As more work comes back to American shores, that's increased volume and capability throughput capacity for American companies. Now, let me add two more things to policies and bills we support that help our industry. Obviously, everyone's heard of the $52 billion CHIPS Act, right? As we speak, the authoriza- tion bill doesn't have money associated with it, but that obviously is a semiconductor reshor- ing incentive package. Within that bill, $2 bil- lion is headed to the Pentagon for advanced packaging, of which the printed circuit board industry is part of advanced packaging. We see that as advantageous. We have been helping advocate for pas- sage of the CHIPS Act that is now built into the America COMPETES Act of 2022, as well as USICA on the Senate side. ere are many bills that will primarily benefit the semicon- ductor industry. Our message has been res-