I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 8562 To require the Director of the Defense Logistics Agency to establish a system for States and localities to access covered items during a covered emergency, to ensure that the Director of the Defense Logistics Agency is the head of the COVID–19 Joint Acquisition Task Force, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OCTOBER 9, 2020 Mr. LARSON of Connecticut (for himself and Mr. COURTNEY) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Armed Services, and in addition to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned A BILL To require the Director of the Defense Logistics Agency to establish a system for States and localities to access covered items during a covered emergency, to ensure that the Director of the Defense Logistics Agency is the head of the COVID–19 Joint Acquisition Task Force, 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 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:55 Nov 01, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8562.IH H8562 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 8562 IH SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 1 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Pandemic Essential 2 Supplies Act’’. 3 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 4 Congress finds the following: 5 (1) The global shortage of medical and sanita- 6 tion supplies due to the COVID–19 pandemic has 7 paralyzed health care systems and strained emer- 8 gency response capabilities of governments around 9 the world. 10 (2) The pandemic demonstrated the inter- 11 dependent nature and the limitations of global sup- 12 ply chains as both our nation and the world com- 13 petes for a finite number of suppliers for critical 14 medical and sanitation resources. 15 (3) Providing a comprehensive understanding of 16 how to procure, manage, deliver, and sustain at scale 17 was necessary during this crisis, and will be critical 18 as the U.S. replenishes current supplies and plans 19 for future crises. 20 (4) The Federal Emergency Management Agen- 21 cy and the Department of Health and Human Serv- 22 ices were challenged to rapidly identify, procure and 23 deploy large quantities of goods and services while 24 simultaneously responding and planning for the re- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:55 Nov 01, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8562.IH H8562 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 8562 IH covery of the United States from this global pan- 1 demic. 2 (5) The traditional interagency emergency re- 3 sponse structure, built to respond to natural disas- 4 ters typically defined by geographic locales, does not 5 have the capacity to scale quickly to address a crisis 6 of this magnitude. 7 (6) The Department of Defense leveraged ac- 8 quisition and supply chain expertise are uniquely 9 suited to rapidly scale and establish acquisition 10 strategies, for both procurement of supplies, expan- 11 sion of industrial capabilities and distribution of 12 such supplies as the COVID–19 response require- 13 ments evolved. 14 (7) As the combat logistics support agency for 15 the Nation, the Defense Logistics Agency (‘‘DLA’’) 16 manages the global supply chain—from raw mate- 17 rials to end user to disposition—for the Army, Ma- 18 rine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, Coast 19 Guard, 11 combatant commands, other Federal 20 agencies, and partner and allied nations. 21 (8) DLA has supported the COVID–19 re- 22 sponse of the Department of Defense by increasing 23 the production and acquisition of critical items 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:55 Nov 01, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8562.IH H8562 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 8562 IH through existing large-scale contracts across multiple 1 supply chains. 2 (9) As a logistics integrator and acquisition and 3 service provider, DLA has the unique capability to 4 manage the supply chain that few other organiza- 5 tions, public or private, can match to assist States, 6 local governments, hospitals, and health care pro- 7 viders around the country with supplies so they are 8 not needlessly competing against one another. 9 (10) Additionally, the COVID–19 Joint Acqui- 10 sition Task Force (‘‘JATF’’), established by the Un- 11 dersecretary of Defense for Acquisition and 12 Sustainment, plays a critical role in the national re- 13 sponse to the COVID–19 pandemic. 14 (11) The JATF’s understanding of reliance on 15 foreign suppliers, often many tiers down in the sup- 16 ply chain, and the impact of that reliance on pro- 17 ducing at scale has allowed the Secretary of Health 18 and Human Services to better plan for replenish- 19 ment of the Strategic National Stockpile. 20 (12) DLA should provide direct support for 21 States during the COVID–19 pandemic and future 22 emergencies. 23 (13) DLA can identify private sector capacity 24 and assess additional needs for rapid mass produc- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:55 Nov 01, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8562.IH H8562 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 8562 IH tion a COVID–19 vaccine in advance of approval by 1 the Federal Drug Administration of such vaccine. 2 (14) The Secretary of Defense should be pre- 3 pared to reconvene the JATF to support future 4 emergencies such as COVID–19. 5 SEC. 3. DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY SYSTEM TO ACCESS 6 COVERED ITEMS DURING A COVERED EMER- 7 GENCY. 8 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 90 days after 9 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Director of the 10 Defense Logistics Agency shall— 11 (1) establish and maintain an online system, or 12 expand access to an existing system, through which 13 States and local governments affected by a covered 14 emergency may submit requests for covered items; 15 and 16 (2) establish procedures for fulfilling such re- 17 quests. 18 (b) FUNDING.—The Secretary of Homeland Security, 19 acting through the Director of the Federal Emergency 20 Management Agency, shall transfer such amounts as de- 21 termined by the Secretary of Defense, acting through the 22 Director of the Defense Logistics Agency, to be derived 23 from the unobligated balances of amounts appropriated or 24 otherwise made available to the Disaster Relief Fund, to 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:55 Nov 01, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8562.IH H8562 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 8562 IH reimburse costs that the Secretary of Defense certifies to 1 the Secretary of Homeland Security were incurred to carry 2 out this section. 3 (c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 4 (1) COVERED EMERGENCY.—The term ‘‘covered 5 emergency’’ means— 6 (A) a major disaster declared by the Presi- 7 dent under section 401 of the Robert T. Staf- 8 ford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance 9 Act; or 10 (B) an emergency or disaster declared by 11 a Governor of a State or the head of a unit of 12 local government. 13 (2) COVERED ITEM.—The term ‘‘covered item’’ 14 means a good or service determined by the Director 15 of the Defense Logistics Agency to be essential to 16 respond to a covered emergency. 17 (3) UNIT OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT.—The term 18 ‘‘unit of local government’’ means a county, munici- 19 pality, town, township, village, parish, borough, or 20 other unit of general government. 21 SEC. 4. COVID–19 JOINT ACQUISITION TASK FORCE. 22 The Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and 23 Sustainment shall designate the Director of the Defense 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:55 Nov 01, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8562.IH H8562 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 8562 IH Logistics Agency as the head of the COVID–19 Joint Ac- 1 quisition Task Force (established on March 25, 2020). 2 SEC. 5. REPORTS. 3 (a) MASS PRODUCTION OF COVID–19 VACCINE.— 4 Not later than 60 days after the date of the enactment 5 of this Act, the Director of the Defense Logistics Agency 6 shall submit to Congress a report describing the needs of 7 the domestic manufacturing base for the mass production 8 of a COVID–19 vaccine, including the raw materials need- 9 ed and an identification of specific entities that could sup- 10 port such mass production. 11 (b) QUARTERLY REPORTS.— 12 (1) IN GENERAL.—Each quarter, the Director 13 of the Defense Logistics Agency shall submit to 14 Congress— 15 (A) an assessment of the identified needs, 16 personnel requirements, funding requirements, 17 and timelines and milestones of operations for 18 the response and recovery efforts of Defense 19 Logistics Agency and the COVID–19 Joint Ac- 20 quisition Task Force during the COVID–19 21 pandemic; and 22 (B) a description of any challenges faced 23 in carrying out such efforts and recommenda- 24 tions to resolve such challenges. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:55 Nov 01, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8562.IH H8562 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 8562 IH (2) TERMINATION.—The requirement under 1 paragraph (1) shall terminate at the end of the first 2 quarter that begins after the national emergency de- 3 clared under the National Emergencies Act (50 4 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.), relating to the COVID–19 out- 5 break, terminates. 6 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:55 Nov 01, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H8562.IH H8562 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS