New Executive Order Seizes Control over Civilian Activities

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42. I doubt that the change you highlighted is as significant as you suggest:

You focus on the substitution of the word "needs" for "threats". But you didn't mention that the Clinton EO referred to "all threats to the national security" of the US which was pretty broad in and of itself. The new version not only drops all and substitutes "needs" for "threats," it replaces the very broad "national security" with "national defense." In the end, as a practical matter, there probably is minimal difference between the two statements of policy.

Here are the two policy statements, with the Clinton version first, followed by the new restatement.

Sec. 102. Policy. The United States must have an industrial and technology base capable of meeting national defense requirements, and capable of contributing to the technological superiority of its defense equipment in peacetime and in times of national emergency. The domestic industrial and technological base is the foundation for national defense preparedness. The authorities provided in the Act shall be used to strengthen this base and to ensure it is capable of responding to all threats to the national security of the United States.

Sec. 102. Policy. The United States must have an industrial and technological base capable of meeting national defense requirements and capable of contributing to the technological superiority of its national defense equipment in peacetime and in times of national emergency. The domestic industrial and technological base is the foundation for national defense preparedness. The authorities provided in the Act shall be used to strengthen this base and to ensure it is capable of responding to the national defense needs of the United States.