President Donald Trump has invoked the Defense Production Act to address constraints in the U.S. munitions industrial base, citing concerns that production bottlenecks could hamper the nation's ability to meet defense needs.

In a one-page presidential memorandum released Tuesday and scheduled for formal publication Wednesday, Trump said "systemic constraints" within the munitions industrial base, including limited production capacity, fragile supply chains, long-lead dependencies, and other manufacturing bottlenecks, could "impair the ability of the United States to produce, sustain, and expand the availability of munitions, missiles, and equipment required for the national defense."

The memo delegates authority to War Department Secretary Pete Hegseth under a provision of the Defense Production Act, a law passed by Congress in 1950, allowing the government and private companies to enter into "voluntary agreements and plans of action to help provide for the national defense."

The move comes as concerns over U.S. munitions stockpiles have intensified following the monthslong U.S. military campaign against Iran and amid broader questions about the defense industrial base's ability to sustain production during prolonged conflicts.

Speaking at a Center for a New American Security event on Tuesday, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Industrial Base Policy Michael Cadenazzi said the administration intends to establish voluntary agreements under the Defense Production Act as a long-term capability, reports CBS News.

"We want these to be set up as an enduring capability. So expect to see more of these," Cadenazzi said.

He said the Pentagon has been working since September to launch a voluntary agreement that would bring defense companies together to address supply chain and industrial base challenges.

"Sometimes we need the collective wisdom of all the assembled companies to collaborate and solve our problems for us, and we want them to provide their best advice from the industrial side," Cadenazzi said.

Concerns about defense production capacity have grown since Russia's invasion of Ukraine highlighted the need for increased artillery production in the United States and Europe.

More recently, the conflict with Iran has focused attention on inventories of advanced missile systems that could be critical in a future conflict with China.

An April analysis by the Center for Strategic and International Studies found the U.S. military used nearly half of its stockpile of Patriot air defense interceptor missiles and more than 50% of its Terminal High Altitude Area Defense interceptors during operations against Iran, reports The Hill.

The analysis also found the United States may have expended more than half of its inventory of four critical munitions, including Tomahawk missiles, during the campaign.

Despite those concerns, Hegseth rejected suggestions that the United States faces a munitions stockpile crisis.

"That is a manufactured story that the media wants to peddle, and ultimately, our stockpiles are great, and they're only getting stronger," Hegseth said Sunday on CBS' "Face the Nation."

Hegseth had testified in April that replenishing munitions used in the Iran campaign could take "months to years."

The administration is also seeking additional defense funding through the budget reconciliation process, which would raise the War Department's budget to a record $1.5 trillion. The procedure would allow Senate Republicans to approve the spending package without Democrat support.

Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, said Tuesday that Pentagon officials are seeking additional funding to acquire weapons and other military equipment.

"They are running short of the funding they need in order to acquire the weapons and missiles and things like that that they need to protect the nation," Cornyn told reporters.

Cornyn said he would support the Pentagon's request for more funding, though some Republican appropriators have questioned whether a third reconciliation package is feasible.