Foreign Arms Sales Task Force Hosts Roundtable with Defense Industry Leaders to Hear Perspectives on Needed Reforms

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Yesterday, the House Foreign Affairs Committee’s Foreign Arms Sales Task Force held the third in a series of roundtables featuring defense industry perspectives on reforming and improving America’s foreign arms sales process.

As part of the bipartisan engagement, members heard from industry representatives from RTX, Lockheed Martin, L3Harris and Boeing on the need for regulatory reforms to the foreign arms sales process to meet the growing demand for cutting edge, American-made defense systems and hardware.

During the roundtable, Task Force Chairman Ryan Zinke (R-MT) highlighted the importance foreign arms sales play in deterring adversaries, strengthening U.S. alliances and bolstering America’s defense industrial base. He underscored that improving the foreign arms sales process is critical for ensuring the U.S. remains as the partner of choice for allies around the globe.

The roundtable provided a forum for candid, detailed discussions between industry insiders and Task Force members on the red-tape American companies face day-in and day-out because of outdated regulations and cumbersome approval processes across the interagency.

The Task Force, which is being led by Chairman Zinke and Ranking Member Madeleine Dean (D-PA), will propose overdue reforms aimed at eliminating bureaucratic hurdles that encumber the current foreign arms sales process.

The legislation put forward by the Task Force will build upon executive actions announced by President Trump last month to reform and improve the foreign defense sales process.