WASHINGTON – Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-Iowa) joined Sens. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), along with Rep. Eric Sorensen (D-Ill.), on legislation to establish a minimum workload requirement at U.S. Army arsenals, including Rock Island Arsenal. The Arsenal Workload Sustainment Act incentivizes public-private partnerships in Army contracting, provides arsenals with a more predictable, sustained workload and allows them to keep costs low while remaining competitive in the manufacturing or procurement of defense products. 

“The Rock Island Arsenal is a pillar of the Quad Cities and our national security industrial base. It must receive the workload necessary in peacetime to ensure readiness in the event of emergency,” Grassley said. “The economic and national security reasons for encouraging investments in our industrial base are many. I’m glad to be teaming up with the bi-state congressional delegation on this effort to benefit our constituencies.”

“The Rock Island Arsenal is a staple of our community in the Quad Cities,” Miller-Meeks said. “Ensuring that they receive a consistent and sustainable workload enhances our national security through supporting our military and supports thousands of high-quality jobs for hard-working men and women around the Quad Cities. I’m proud to team with members of the Iowa and Illinois delegations to introduce this important piece of legislation.”

“Rock Island Arsenal is a crucial asset for both our national security and the economy of the Quad Cities region, outfitted to manufacture the defense articles needed to ensure military preparedness. That’s why I’m introducing the Arsenal Workload Sustainment Act with Congressman Sorensen today,” Durbin said. “This new legislation would support the organic industrial base and ensure that our nation’s arsenals are seeing a workload worthy of their expertise.”

The Arsenal Workload Sustainment Act would:

  • Require a 50 percent workload threshold for government-owned and government-operated Army factories and arsenals. This would apply to production that can take place at Army arsenals and factories, leveraging their unique role in the organic industrial base and capabilities such as in additive manufacturing.
  • Establish a preference for public-private partnerships that provide a non-public entity a 20 percent preference in the source selection process if it uses a government-owned and government-operated Army arsenal as a partner.
  • Direct the Defense Department to provide relevant congressional committees an annual report on workload at the arsenals and capital investments to help ensure arsenals' sustainment. 

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