Washington Doesn’t Listen to Silence

Why the industry needs a single loud voice.

There’s an old saying in Washington: “Policy is written by the people who show up.” And right now – at a moment when national security, supply-chain stability and technological leadership are hanging in the balance – we need people showing up who understand the stakes of North American electronics manufacturing.

And that’s exactly why the Printed Circuit Board Association of America (PCBAA) exists: to give our industry a single, unified, unignorable voice in the rooms where decisions get made.

Silence has never protected an industry. Silence has never grown a sector. Silence has never earned funding, incentives, or national security attention. Washington doesn’t listen to silence. It listens to strength, unity and numbers.

If you care about the future of American PCB and PCBA manufacturing, this is the time to show up – and the way you show up is by joining PCBAA.

Policy Shapes the Future of Manufacturing – With or Without Us

Look at what’s happened in the last few years:

• The Chips Act reshaped semiconductor investment.
• Congress is rewriting defense procurement rules.
• Agencies are redefining “trusted suppliers.”
• Industrial base funding is in the forefront of policymakers’ minds.

None of this is accidental. None of it just “happened.” These shifts occurred because industries with organized voices showed up, testified, advocated and demanded action.

Semiconductors had a voice. Batteries had a voice. EV manufacturers had a voice. Foreign competitors certainly have a voice. For decades, PCB and PCBA manufacturing in the US did not.

The result? A marketplace where America – once the global leader in printed circuit board production – fell to 4% market share. A national security ecosystem where critical electronics are designed onshore but sourced from countries with conflicting strategic interests. A defense supply chain where primes often depend on fragile overseas capacity to build the platforms that protect our nation.

This didn’t happen because Washington was malicious. It happened because Washington was uninformed. And uninformed policymakers make uninformed decisions. PCBAA was created to change that.

Individual companies calling Washington rarely change policy. Why? Because one voice sounds like a complaint. A hundred voices sound like a movement. A united industry sounds like a national priority.

PCBAA brings companies together to educate policymakers on the critical role of PCBs and PCBAs, demonstrate how supply-chain fragility poses national security risks and push for incentives comparable to those granted to the semiconductor industry. It also advocates for a “trusted supplier” ecosystem of North American manufacturers, highlights the need for domestic capacity across defense, aerospace, medical, automotive and telecom sectors, and works to ensure that manufacturing funding supports the entire electronics stack, not just the chip.

When Congress hears directly from PCB and PCBA manufacturers acting as a unified body, the conversation shifts from: “Who are you?” to “What do you need?”

That shift only happens with numbers – membership numbers. Washington rewards participation. If you don’t show up, you don’t get included. If you don’t get included, you don’t get funded. Simple. Common sense.

PCBAA shows up by testifying at congressional hearings, briefing members of Congress and their staff, and meeting with agencies including the DoD, Commerce, DHS and the White House. It provides language for legislation, connects industry voices directly with policymakers, and supplies the technical insight that general policymakers do not have. Without PCBAA, these conversations happen without this industry in the room.

Imagine Congress designing industrial policy for electronics manufacturing without input from actual PCB and PCBA manufacturers. Imagine funding decisions being made by people who don’t understand the difference between a laminated substrate and a fully assembled board. Imagine national security directives being written without a clear view of supply-chain risk from the companies actually building the technology.

That’s what was happening before PCBAA. Now, because of PCBAA, Washington has a real source of truth. But influence grows only when membership grows.

Why Your Membership Matters More Than You Think

Joining PCBAA is not symbolic. It’s not a donation. It’s not a “nice to do.” It is a strategic investment in the future of your company and your industry.

Here’s why:

1. Washington takes industries seriously based on who joins, not who complains. Membership is evidence of scale. It shows Congress: “This industry is organized. This industry is watching. This industry matters.”
2. PCBAA uses membership numbers to justify funding requests. The larger the membership, the stronger the mandate. Membership equals leverage.
3. Your company’s presence helps shape the agenda. Members get access to briefings, policy updates, strategy sessions and direct advocacy opportunities.
4. Policy wins benefit everyone, but they are only won when everyone contributes. If you build boards, assemble boards, design boards or depend on boards, you are part of the critical supply chain that Washington is deciding how to support. Don’t let those decisions happen without your voice.

3 Realities Washington Responds To

Washington is complicated, but the motivations behind policy decisions are simple:

1. Washington responds to national security risk. PCBAA shows policymakers that the erosion of PCB and PCBA manufacturing is not an industry issue – it’s a national security vulnerability.
2. Washington responds to economic competitiveness. The global race for advanced electronics is strategic. PCBAA makes the case that reshoring PCB and PCBA capacity is essential for long-term leadership.
3. Washington responds to organized industries. When industries speak in unison, they get attention, influence and results. PCBAA ensures that our industry is treated not as an afterthought, but as a national priority.

There is a cost to staying quiet. A very real one. Silence guarantees more offshoring, greater reliance on geopolitical rivals and increasingly fragile supply chains. It leads to fewer incentives for domestic manufacturing, less visibility for companies doing critical work and policy decisions that reshape the industry without your input. Ultimately, it risks a future in which America designs the world’s best technology but cannot build it. If that future concerns you, then silence is the wrong strategy. Unity is the right one.

Why Join PCBAA?

Joining PCBAA means you’re not waiting for someone else to fix the problem. It means you’re stepping forward to strengthen the voice of an industry that has gone unheard for decades, push for policy that favors domestic production and ensure America can build the electronics that power defense, aerospace, telecom, medical and emerging technologies. It also means shaping legislation that will determine funding, incentives and procurement rules, protecting your business from global vulnerabilities, and contributing to a national movement restoring American electronics leadership.

Membership is action. Membership is influence. Membership is ownership of the future. The decisions Congress makes in the next five years will determine the next five decades of this industry. If you want those decisions to favor you, your company and your country, then you can’t afford to sit this out. In the world of policy, silence is interpreted as acceptance. If you don’t speak up, policymakers assume everything is fine. But everything is not fine.

We need capacity. We need investment. We need recognition. We need security. We need a domestic electronics backbone worthy of the nation it serves. And we need a single, loud, unified voice to make that happen.

PCBAA is that voice. But a voice is only powerful when enough people speak with it. You can be one of them.

This is the moment to show up. This is the moment to be counted. This is the moment to join PCBAA and help ensure Washington listens.

Because Washington doesn’t listen to silence. But it listens to us – when we speak together.

Visit www.pcbaa.org to learn more.End of article content

Dan Beaulieu is a longtime management consultant to the printed circuit industry and a member of the PCBAA; danbbeaulieu@aol.com.