Rep. Burchett introduces bill to protect American military stockpiles

KNOXVILLE, Tenn., (October 11, 2024) - Today, U.S. Congressman Tim Burchett (TN-02) introduced the Safeguarding Our Stockpiles (SOS) Act to restore the presidential drawdown authority (PDA) to its original intent, as a last-resort safeguard.

"President Biden has abused his authority to send nearly $24 billion in weapons to Ukraine," said Rep. Burchett. "Congress needs to put him in check. He clearly needs better guidance on how he can use this authority the American people entrusted to him."

When the Presidential Drawdown Authority (PDA) was enacted in 1961, the intent was to use this authority as a last resort measure to ensure our country was protected even in the most extreme unforeseen emergency situations.

However, since 2021, the Biden administration has abused this authority and used loopholes in the statute to arm Ukraine with nearly $24 billion worth of U.S. equipment in 57 separate drawdowns. This has stripped our stockpiles bare and left our country unprepared for future emergencies.

The Safeguarding Our Stockpiles Act makes four changes to the existing Presidential Drawdown Authority statute to restore it to its initial intent:

1. Removes ambiguity about what constitutes an "unforeseen emergency" and defines it as a kinetic attack against a bilateral or multilateral treaty ally, reasonably unforeseen by U.S. intelligence, and which poses an imminent threat to the U.S. security interests.
2. Prohibits the President from accessing more stockpiles than the U.S. has the capacity to replenish.
3. Automatically sunsets any unused drawdown authority at the end of the fiscal year, requiring new authorization for subsequent deliveries and preventing cases from remaining open indefinitely.
4. Requires Congress to approve every drawdown that exceeds the $100 million cap in a given year, including authorizing sufficient appropriations to replenish the stockpiles.

The full text of the Safeguarding Our Stockpiles Act can be found here.