(Senator Joni Ernst - KIWA Staff Photo)Washington, D.C. (RI) — The U.S. Senate has passed a bipartisan bill co-sponsored by Iowa Senator Joni Ernst that would direct the federal government to identify critical goods imported into the United States and identify strategies to produce them in rural America.
Ernst says the bill is focused on the economy and national security of the U.S.
Ernst says conflicts involving countries that supply key components, such as microchips or rare earth minerals, could create supply chain problems similar to those seen during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The bill cleared the U.S. House in April and now heads to the president’s desk for consideration.
Iowa Congresswoman Mariannette Miller-Meeks, a co-sponsor of the legislation, said it would create a roadmap to identify areas where the United States depends on foreign supply chains and find ways to bring that production back to the U.S. economy.
