PRICE Act

II 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION S. 3858 To authorize the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agen- cy to become the sole owner and distributer of certain medical equipment in the event of a covered emergency; to establish a Joint Congressional Committee on Defense Production; and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JUNE 1, 2020 Ms. WARREN introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs A BILL To authorize the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency to become the sole owner and distributer of certain medical equipment in the event of a covered emergency; to establish a Joint Congres- sional Committee on Defense Production; and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Pandemic Response 4 and Interstate Cost Equity Act’’ or the ‘‘PRICE Act’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:39 Jun 20, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3858.IS S3858 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 3858 IS SEC. 2. ADMINISTRATOR AS OWNER AND DISTRIBUTER OF 1 CERTAIN MEDICAL EQUIPMENT. 2 (a) IN GENERAL.—In the event of a covered emer- 3 gency, the Administrator shall become the sole owner and 4 distributer of medical equipment obtained by the Federal 5 government pursuant to this Act for which the prevailing 6 market price exceeds the fair market price by more than 7 15 percent and is required to address the covered emer- 8 gency. 9 (b) ASSESSMENT OF MEDICAL EQUIPMENT.—To 10 carry out subsection (a), the Secretary of Health and 11 Human Services, in consultation with the Administrator 12 and other Federal agencies or departments as considered 13 necessary, shall conduct an assessment of available med- 14 ical equipment, including— 15 (1) identifying the medical equipment required 16 to address the covered emergency for which the pre- 17 vailing market price exceeds the fair market price by 18 more than 15 percent; 19 (2) assessing the amount of such medical equip- 20 ment available to respond to the covered emergency, 21 including the amount of such medical equipment 22 available in the Strategic National Stockpile; and 23 (3) determining the amount of such medical 24 equipment still needed to respond to the covered 25 emergency. 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:39 Jun 20, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3858.IS S3858 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 3858 IS (c) CONTRACT TO PRODUCE MEDICAL EQUIP- 1 MENT.—Following the assessment under subsection (b), 2 the Administrator, in consultation with the Secretary of 3 Health and Human Services and the Secretary of Defense, 4 shall— 5 (1) create and execute an indefinite delivery-in- 6 definite quantity contract with all persons capable of 7 producing such medical equipment to— 8 (A) respond to the covered emergency; and 9 (B) following the covered emergency, re- 10 plenish the Strategic National Stockpile to a 11 level acceptable to respond to a future public 12 health emergency or other covered emergency; 13 (2) require that all contracts created and exe- 14 cuted under this section supersede any existing con- 15 tracts such persons have already created or exe- 16 cuted; and 17 (3) establish a price for such medical equipment 18 to be resold to the States or other persons. 19 (d) SALE OR DISTRIBUTION OF CERTAIN MEDICAL 20 EQUIPMENT.—The Administrator shall sell or otherwise 21 distribute medical equipment to the States or to persons 22 that request such medical equipment, giving consideration 23 to— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:39 Jun 20, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3858.IS S3858 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 3858 IS (1) requests for medical equipment under sub- 1 sections (e) and (f); 2 (2) the continuity of operations of the Federal 3 government; and 4 (3) consultation with public health officials, as 5 may be necessary. 6 (e) STATE REQUEST FOR MEDICAL EQUIPMENT.— 7 To request an allocation of medical equipment, a State 8 shall submit to the Administrator a request for medical 9 equipment, including— 10 (1) the number of impacted individuals in each 11 State, disaggregated by condition and the severity of 12 such condition— 13 (A) on the date the request is submitted to 14 the Administrator; 15 (B) as projected at 14 days from the date 16 the request is submitted to the Administrator; 17 and 18 (C) as projected at 60 days from the date 19 the request is submitted to the Administrator; 20 (2) existing health system medical equipment; 21 (3) medical equipment possessed by the State; 22 (4) an estimate of the quantity of medical 23 equipment required to diagnose and treat the condi- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:39 Jun 20, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3858.IS S3858 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 3858 IS tion for which the covered emergency is in effect; 1 and 2 (5) any additional information as determined 3 necessary by the Administrator. 4 (f) OTHER REQUESTS FOR MEDICAL EQUIPMENT.— 5 The Administrator shall establish a process under which 6 a person may request medical equipment to respond to the 7 covered emergency. 8 (g) POST-EMERGENCY DISTRIBUTION OF MEDICAL 9 EQUIPMENT.—Upon the termination of the covered emer- 10 gency, the Administrator shall distribute any medical sup- 11 plies not sold or otherwise distributed to the States or any 12 person to the Strategic National Stockpile. 13 SEC. 3. REPORTS TO THE CONGRESS. 14 (a) BIWEEKLY REPORT.— 15 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not less than 14 days after 16 the date a covered emergency is in effect, and not 17 less than every 14 days thereafter until the date that 18 is 30 days after the date on which the covered emer- 19 gency is terminated, the Administrator shall submit 20 to the Congress a report on the activities carried out 21 under this Act. 22 (2) CONTENT.—The report required under 23 paragraph (1) shall include— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:39 Jun 20, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3858.IS S3858 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •S 3858 IS (A) information on the number of im- 1 pacted individuals, disaggregated by State, con- 2 dition, and severity of such condition— 3 (i) on the date the report is submitted 4 to the Congress; 5 (ii) as projected at 14 days from the 6 date the report is submitted to the Con- 7 gress; and 8 (iii) as projected at 60 days from the 9 date the report is submitted to the Con- 10 gress; 11 (B) the amount of medical equipment still 12 needed to diagnose and treat the condition for 13 which the covered emergency is in effect, 14 disaggregated by State; 15 (C) requests submitted by the States or by 16 persons under section 2; 17 (D) information on the contracts created 18 and executed under section 2; 19 (E) the amount of medical equipment re- 20 sold or distributed by the Federal Government, 21 including the allocation and projected allocation 22 of government and existing health system med- 23 ical equipment, disaggregated by State— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:39 Jun 20, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3858.IS S3858 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •S 3858 IS (i) on the date the report is submitted 1 to the Congress; 2 (ii) as projected at 14 days from the 3 date the report is submitted to the Con- 4 gress; and 5 (iii) as projected at 60 days from the 6 date the report is submitted to the Con- 7 gress; and 8 (F) other Federal contracts for medical 9 equipment entered into outside of section 2. 10 (b) FINAL REPORT.— 11 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 60 days after 12 the termination of the covered emergency, the Ad- 13 ministrator shall submit to the Congress a report on 14 the activities carried out under this Act. 15 (2) CONTENT.—The report required under 16 paragraph (1) shall include— 17 (A) the content from the biweekly reports 18 submitted to the Congress under subsection (a); 19 (B) the current status of the Strategic Na- 20 tional Stockpile, including the inventory of med- 21 ical equipment and the projected quantity of 22 medical equipment required to mitigate a future 23 public health emergency or other covered emer- 24 gency; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:39 Jun 20, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3858.IS S3858 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •S 3858 IS (C) an assessment of actions that Federal, 1 State, and local governments should take to 2 build resiliency to prevent, detect, treat, and 3 mitigate a public health emergency or other 4 covered emergency. 5 SEC. 4. FUNDING. 6 Amounts available in the Defense Production Act 7 Fund under section 304 of the Defense Production Act 8 of 1950 (50 U.S.C. 4534) may be made available for pur- 9 chases made under this section. 10 SEC. 5. ESTABLISHMENT OF JOINT CONGRESSIONAL COM- 11 MITTEE. 12 (a) ESTABLISHMENT AND MEMBERSHIP.— 13 (1) IN GENERAL.—There is established a Joint 14 Committee on Defense Production (referred to in 15 this section as the ‘‘Committee’’), to be composed 16 of— 17 (A) five members of the Committee on Fi- 18 nancial Services of the House of Representa- 19 tives, with three members from the majority 20 party and two from the minority party, to be 21 appointed by the chairman of the Committee on 22 Financial Services; and 23 (B) five members of the Committee on 24 Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:39 Jun 20, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3858.IS S3858 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •S 3858 IS Senate, with three members from the majority 1 party and two from the minority party, to be 2 appointed by the chairman of the Committee on 3 Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs. 4 (2) CHAIRMAN AND VICE CHAIRMAN.—The 5 Committee shall elect a chairman and a vice chair- 6 man from among its members, one of whom shall be 7 a member of the House of Representatives and the 8 other a member of the Senate. 9 (3) VACANCY.—A vacancy in the membership of 10 the Committee shall be filled in the same manner as 11 the original selection. 12 (b) POWERS.—The Committee, or any duly author- 13 ized subcommittee thereof, is authorized to hold such 14 hearings, to sit and act at such times and such places, 15 to require by subpoena (to be issued under the signature 16 of the chairman or vice chairman of the Committee) or 17 otherwise the attendance of such witnesses and the pro- 18 duction of such books, papers, and documents, to admin- 19 ister such oaths, to take such testimony, to procure such 20 printing and binding, and to make such expenditures as 21 it considers advisable. 22 (c) DUTIES.—The Committee shall be responsible for 23 the continuous study of the programs authorized by this 24 Act, and to review the progress achieved in the execution 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:39 Jun 20, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3858.IS S3858 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •S 3858 IS and administration of such programs. Upon request, the 1 Committee shall aid the standing committees of the Con- 2 gress having legislative jurisdiction over any part of the 3 programs authorized by this Act; and it shall make a re- 4 port to the House of Representatives and the Senate, from 5 time to time, concerning the results of its studies, together 6 with such recommendations as it may consider desirable. 7 (d) INFORMATION FROM FEDERAL AGENCIES AND 8 DEPARTMENTS.—Any department, official, or agency ad- 9 ministering any of such programs shall, at the request of 10 the Committee, consult with the Committee, from time to 11 time, with respect to their activities under this Act. 12 (e) EXPENSES.—The expenses of the Committee, 13 which shall not exceed $750,000 in any fiscal year, shall 14 be paid one-half from the contingent fund of the House 15 of Representatives and one-half from the contingent fund 16 of the Senate upon vouchers signed by the chairman or 17 vice chairman. 18 SEC. 6. DEFINITIONS. 19 In this Act: 20 (1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis- 21 trator’’ means the Administrator of the Federal 22 Emergency Management Agency. 23 (2) COVERED EMERGENCY.—The term ‘‘covered 24 emergency’’ means a national emergency in which 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:39 Jun 20, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3858.IS S3858 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •S 3858 IS the President has declared a national emergency and 1 determined that— 2 (A) a disease or disorder presents an emer- 3 gency that affects the United States; or 4 (B) a public health emergency exists, in- 5 cluding a significant outbreak of an infectious 6 disease or a bioterrorist attack. 7 (3) EXISTING HEALTH SYSTEM MEDICAL 8 EQUIPMENT.—The term ‘‘existing health system 9 medical equipment’’ means medical equipment 10 owned by a hospital. 11 (4) FAIR MARKET PRICE.—The term ‘‘fair mar- 12 ket price’’ means the average market price of med- 13 ical equipment from the preceding calendar year. 14 (5) HOSPITAL.—The term ‘‘hospital’’ has the 15 meaning given the term under section 1861(e) of the 16 Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395x(e)). 17 (6) IMPACTED INDIVIDUALS.—The term ‘‘im- 18 pacted individuals’’ means an individual— 19 (A) diagnosed with a condition for which 20 the public health emergency has been issued; 21 (B) that is experiencing symptoms con- 22 sistent with the condition for which the covered 23 emergency has been issued and is seeking a 24 medical diagnosis; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:39 Jun 20, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3858.IS S3858 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 12 •S 3858 IS (C) that has been identified as having been 1 exposed to a bioterrorist attack; or 2 (D) otherwise meets criteria determined by 3 the Administrator during the covered emer- 4 gency period. 5 (7) INDEFINITE DELIVERY-INDEFINITE QUAN- 6 TITY CONTRACT.—The term ‘‘indefinite delivery-in- 7 definite quantity contract’’ means a contract to pro- 8 vide for an indefinite quantity of materials or serv- 9 ices for a fixed time. 10 (8) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Indian tribe’’ 11 has the meaning given the term in section 4 of the 12 Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance 13 Act (25 U.S.C. 5304). 14 (9) MEDICAL EQUIPMENT.—The term ‘‘medical 15 equipment’’ means— 16 (A) N95 respirators; 17 (B) medical ventilators; 18 (C) face shields; 19 (D) medical exam gloves; 20 (E) surgical gowns; 21 (F) diagnostic tests; and 22 (G) such other medical equipment as the 23 Administrator determines to be neces [Text truncated for display. 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