Top Republican planning to introduce PPP-style program to combat supply chain problems

Illinois Republican Rep. Rodney Davis is spearheading legislation to bolster the vulnerable U.S. supply chain and repatriate offshore American manufacturing with a program that will be similar in design to the federal pandemic relief initiative called the Paycheck Protection Program.

"I think even Democrats realize that we've got to identify what our supply chain shortages are here in America, and that's what my bill does," Davis said, referring to the House-passed Critical Infrastructure Manufacturing Feasibility Act.

The bill "allows the Department of Commerce to do a study that then we can identify what we're not doing in the United States," Davis told the John Solomon Reports podcast Monday.

"And then long term, what we need to do, is incentivize companies to bring manufacturing back to the United States to address these already identified supply chain crisis issues," said Davis, the ranking member of the House Administration Committee.

Davis envisions a PPP-style loan forgiveness program created to help U.S. manufacturers rely less on foreign production.

"Why can't we use the same type of program," he said, "to allow companies to expand into areas, especially in rural America, once they reach a certain production level, once they reach a level of hiring a certain amount of employees? How about we forgive some of their financing package so that we can bring these products back to the United States?"

One of the downsides of the nearly $1 trillion PPP was the significant amount of fraud detected in the program after billions of dollars were dispersed. 

Approximately 15% ($144 billion) of the $961 billion is projected to have been obtained fraudulently, according to a study.

A separate study found that the majority of PPP forgivable loans were not used for paychecks.