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94 PCB007 MAGAZINE I NOVEMBER 2022 Now that the 2022 midterm elections are behind us, we can look forward to the 118th Congress beginning their work on Jan. 3, 2023. e ongoing effort to build secure and resilient supply chains will be front and center on their agenda. On the heels of everything that has been done to invest in semiconductor reshoring, some might ask why further action is needed. e CHIPs and Science Act that passed ear- lier this year was an important first step. But unless we invest in the entire microelectron- ics ecosystem, it won't be enough. A complex technology stack including semiconductors, substrates, and printed circuit boards makes almost all modern technologies possible. e entire ecosystem matters, and we can't simply invest in one layer and expect to achieve the result we're seeking. Congress Must Redefine What's Critical In the case of printed circuit boards, there is a considerable challenge: Over the past two decades, domestic production of printed cir- cuit boards decreased from 26% to 4% of global market share. In that same period, the industry shrunk from nearly 2,500 U.S.-based compa- nies to fewer than 150. is erosion has real implications for criti- cal systems, but what do we mean by "critical" anyway? Until now, the definition has been narrowly applied to aerospace and defense technologies. e Pentagon recognized decades ago that modern weapons systems—everything from submarines to night vision goggles—rely on microelectronics and directed U.S. industry to produce those technologies here at home. Today that strict definition is outdated. Because of the way commercial and defense American Made Advocacy by Travis Kelly, PCBAA