Senate Armed Services Committee Releases Report on Counterfeit Parts in DOD

Senate Armed Services Committee Releases Report on Counterfeit Parts in DOD Supply Chain
March 28, 2012. The Senate Armed Services Committee has released a report entitled "Inquity into Counterfeit Electronic Parts in the Department of Defense Supply Chain," S.Rpt. 112-167, which found over 1,800 counterfeit parts in just a sample of the supply chain checked for a two year time span. For those cases in which the investigators then followed the supply chain, they found that some 70 percent came from China. Id. at ii. The parts identified went into missiles, aircraft, and helicopters. The report finds that not only do the counterfeit parts jeopardize mission effectiveness and safety, but they also cost a great deal of money to rectify once detected in existing DOD weapons systems and equipment.
   This investigation began a year ago, but, committee chair, Carl Levin (D., MI) and ranking member John McCain (R., AZ) cosponsored an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act for FY 2012 which was signed into law in December 2011 aimed at addressing the problem of counterfeit parts. That amendment became §818 entitled "Detection and Avoidance of Counterfeit Electronic Parts" which requires action by the Department of Defense to detect and deter the problem. It also amends §2320 of Title 18 of the U.S. Code to increase criminal penalties for those engaged in trafficking in counterfeit goods or services.
   The Senate investigation followed in the wake of studies by the Department of Commerce, "Defense Industrial Base Assessment: Counterfeit Parts" (January 2010) and the Government Accountability Office on that subject in 2010, "Defense Supplier Base: DOD Should Leverage Ongoing Initiatives in Developing Its Program to Mitigate Risk of Counterfeit Parts."
   Read the Armed Services Committee Report.
   Read the Committee Press Release.
   Access the Commerce Department 2010 Report.
   Access the 2010 GAO report.
   Access P.L. 112-81 National Defense Authorization Act for FY 2012.