First Island Chain Deterrence Act

This bill would require the Comptroller General, who leads the Government Accountability Office, to send Congress a report within 18 months on how delays in U.S. weapons sales to Japan, Taiwan, and the Philippines affect the Defense Department's ability to defend the First Island Chain, a line of islands off the East Asian mainland. The report would describe the status of approved but unfinished major arms sales to these countries and measure delays, including those caused by Defense Department processes, limits on U.S. defense production, and the prioritizing of deliveries to allies in conflicts such as in the Middle East. It would also assess how such delays affect military cooperation with these countries. The report would be mostly unclassified with a classified annex, and the Secretary of Defense would have to give the Comptroller General timely access to needed information.

Full text and official record on Congress.gov

Sponsors

• Michael F. Bennet Democrat sponsor
• 1 cosponsors