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Congress

Defense Bill Modifies Industrial Fund Provisions, Adds Batteries, Leaves Out OBBBA Funds

By Cal Biesecker

Monday, December 15th, 2025

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Defense Bill Modifies Industrial Fund Provisions, Adds Batteries, Leaves Out OBBBA Funds

Pictured is the U.S. Capitol at night (Photo by Sarah Salem)

The defense authorization bill passed by the House last week and under consideration in the Senate this week adds batteries to the list of possible investments to bolster U.S. industrial supply chains, but, unlike the earlier Senate version, the final conference bill only allows the department to leverage future appropriations for new authorities within the Industrial Base Fund (IBF). Inclusion of batteries within the IBF adds a 15th category to go with castings and forgings, kinetic capabilities, microelectronics, tooling, critical…

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