Pandemic Supplies Production Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 8943 To direct the President to use authority under the Defense Production Act of 1950 to ensure an adequate supply of equipment necessary for limiting the spread of COVID–19, to elevate the Director of the Defense Logistics Agency as the head of the COVID–19 Joint Acquisition Task Force, 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, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES DECEMBER 10, 2020 Mr. LARSON of Connecticut (for himself, Mr. COURTNEY, Mrs. HAYES, and Mr. HIMES) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com- mittee on Armed Services, and in addition to the Committees on Finan- cial Services, and 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 con- cerned A BILL To direct the President to use authority under the Defense Production Act of 1950 to ensure an adequate supply of equipment necessary for limiting the spread of COVID–19, to elevate the Director of the Defense Logis- tics Agency as the head of the COVID–19 Joint Acquisi- tion Task Force, to require the Director of the Defense Logistics Agency to establish a system for States and localities to access covered items during a covered emer- gency, and for other purposes. VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:44 Dec 31, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6652 E:\BILLS\H8943.IH H8943 KHAMMond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 8943 IH 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 Supplies 4 Production Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 6 Congress finds the following: 7 (1) The global shortage of medical and sanita- 8 tion supplies due to the COVID–19 pandemic has 9 paralyzed health care systems and strained emer- 10 gency response capabilities of governments around 11 the world. 12 (2) The pandemic demonstrated the inter- 13 dependent nature and the limitations of global sup- 14 ply chains as both our nation and the world com- 15 petes for a finite number of suppliers for critical 16 medical and sanitation resources. 17 (3) Providing a comprehensive understanding of 18 how to procure, manage, deliver, and sustain at scale 19 was necessary during this crisis, and will be critical 20 as the U.S. replenishes current supplies and plans 21 for future crises. 22 (4) The Federal Emergency Management Agen- 23 cy and the Department of Health and Human Serv- 24 ices were challenged to rapidly identify, procure, and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:17 Dec 27, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8943.IH H8943 KHAMMond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 8943 IH deploy large quantities of goods and services while 1 simultaneously responding and planning for the re- 2 covery of the United States from this global pan- 3 demic. 4 (5) The traditional interagency emergency re- 5 sponse structure, built to respond to natural disas- 6 ters typically defined by geographic locales, does not 7 have the capacity to scale quickly to address a crisis 8 of this magnitude. 9 (6) The Department of Defense leveraged ac- 10 quisition and supply chain expertise are uniquely 11 suited to rapidly scale and establish acquisition 12 strategies, for both procurement of supplies, expan- 13 sion of industrial capabilities and distribution of 14 such supplies as the COVID–19 response require- 15 ments evolved. 16 (7) As the combat logistics support agency for 17 the Nation, the Defense Logistics Agency (‘‘DLA’’) 18 manages the global supply chain—from raw mate- 19 rials to end user to disposition—for the Army, Ma- 20 rine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, Coast 21 Guard, 11 combatant commands, other Federal 22 agencies, and partner and allied nations. 23 (8) DLA has supported the COVID–19 re- 24 sponse of the Department of Defense by increasing 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:17 Dec 27, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8943.IH H8943 KHAMMond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 8943 IH the production and acquisition of critical items 1 through existing large-scale contracts across multiple 2 supply chains. 3 (9) As a logistics integrator and acquisition and 4 service provider, DLA has the unique capability to 5 manage the supply chain that few other organiza- 6 tions, public or private, can match to assist States, 7 local governments, hospitals, and health care pro- 8 viders around the country with supplies so they are 9 not needlessly competing against one another. 10 (10) Additionally, the COVID–19 Joint Acqui- 11 sition Task Force (‘‘JATF’’), established by the 12 Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and 13 Sustainment, plays a critical role in the national re- 14 sponse to the COVID–19 pandemic. 15 (11) The JATF’s understanding of reliance on 16 foreign suppliers, often many tiers down in the sup- 17 ply chain, and the impact of that reliance on pro- 18 ducing at scale has allowed the Secretary of Health 19 and Human Services to better plan for replenish- 20 ment of the Strategic National Stockpile. 21 (12) DLA should provide direct support for 22 States during the COVID–19 pandemic and future 23 emergencies. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:44 Dec 31, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8943.IH H8943 KHAMMond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 8943 IH (13) DLA can identify private sector capacity 1 and assess additional needs for vaccines and supplies 2 during the COVID–19 pandemic and during future 3 emergencies. 4 (14) The Department of Health and Human 5 Services estimated that healthcare providers may 6 need 3,500,000,000 face masks to meet potential 7 long-term need. 8 (15) Testing capacity and testing materials 9 have not met existing needs, as well as therapeutics. 10 SEC. 3. USE OF DEFENSE PRODUCTION ACT AUTHORITY 11 FOR EQUIPMENT NECESSARY FOR LIMITING 12 SPREAD OF COVID-19. 13 (a) IN GENERAL.—Immediately upon the enactment 14 of this Act, the President shall— 15 (1) determine under section 101(b) of the De- 16 fense Production Act of 1950 (50 U.S.C. 4511(b)) 17 that— 18 (A) medical equipment and supplies, test- 19 ing materials, ventilators, and personal protec- 20 tive equipment are scarce and critical material 21 essential to the national defense; and 22 (B) the requirements of the national de- 23 fense for such equipment cannot be met without 24 exercising the authorities provided by the De- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:17 Dec 27, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8943.IH H8943 KHAMMond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 8943 IH fense Production Act of 1950 (50 U.S.C. 4501 1 et seq.); 2 (2) identify private sector capacity to produce 3 such equipment; and 4 (3) exercise the authorities provided by the De- 5 fense Production Act of 1950 to the extent nec- 6 essary— 7 (A) to mitigate, where possible, the de- 8 pendency of the United States on overseas 9 sources of supply of each such materials during 10 the global shortage; and 11 (B) to ensure the immediate adequacy of 12 productive capacity and supply of ventilators, 13 N–95 masks and other essential personal pro- 14 tective equipment, therapeutics, and tests and 15 testing supplies needed to address the COVID- 16 19 crisis based on an assessment of needs. 17 (b) REPORTS.—Beginning on the date of the declara- 18 tion of a national pandemic or the declaration of a public 19 health emergency and ending on the date that is 7 days 20 after the termination of such pandemic or emergency, the 21 head of the agency coordinating the National response to 22 the pandemic or emergency, shall submit to Congress 23 weekly reports on— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:17 Dec 27, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8943.IH H8943 KHAMMond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 8943 IH (1) the status of the production of equipment, 1 ventilators, medical protective gear, therapeutics, 2 and tests and testing supplies; 3 (2) available resources; and 4 (3) the plan for the distribution of equipment, 5 ventilators, medical protective gear, therapeutics, 6 and tests and testing supplies. 7 (c) TERMINATION.—This section, and authorities 8 carried out pursuant to this section, shall terminate on 9 the date on which the national emergency declared under 10 the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.), 11 relating to the COVID-19 outbreak, terminates. 12 SEC. 4. DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY SYSTEM TO ACCESS 13 COVERED ITEMS DURING A COVERED EMER- 14 GENCY. 15 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 90 days after 16 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Director of the 17 Defense Logistics Agency shall— 18 (1) establish and maintain a online system, or 19 expand access to an existing system, through which 20 States and local governments affected by a covered 21 emergency may submit requests for covered items; 22 and 23 (2) establish procedures for fulfilling such re- 24 quests. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:17 Dec 27, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8943.IH H8943 KHAMMond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 8943 IH (b) FUNDING.—The Secretary of Homeland Security, 1 acting through the Director of the Federal Emergency 2 Management Agency, shall transfer such amounts as de- 3 termined by the Secretary of Defense, acting through the 4 Director of the Defense Logistics Agency, to be derived 5 from the unobligated balances of amounts appropriated or 6 otherwise made available to the Disaster Relief Fund, to 7 reimburse costs that the Secretary of Defense certifies to 8 the Secretary of Homeland Security were incurred to carry 9 out this section. 10 (c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 11 (1) The term ‘‘covered emergency’’ means— 12 (A) a major disaster declared by the Presi- 13 dent under section 401 of the Robert T. Staf- 14 ford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance 15 Act; or 16 (B) an emergency or disaster declared by 17 a Governor of a State or the head of a unit of 18 local government. 19 (2) The term ‘‘covered item’’ means a good or 20 service determined by the Director of the Defense 21 Logistics Agency to be essential to respond to a cov- 22 ered emergency. 23 (3) The term ‘‘unit of local government’’ means 24 a county, municipality, town, township, village, par- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:17 Dec 27, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8943.IH H8943 KHAMMond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 8943 IH ish, borough, Tribe, or other unit of general govern- 1 ment. 2 SEC. 5. COVID–19 JOINT ACQUISITION TASK FORCE. 3 The Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and 4 Sustainment shall designate the Director of the Defense 5 Logistics Agency as the head of the COVID–19 Joint Ac- 6 quisition Task Force (established on March 25, 2020). 7 SEC. 6. REPORTS. 8 (a) MASS PRODUCTION OF COVID–19 VACCINE.— 9 Not later than 60 days after the date of the enactment 10 of this Act, the Director of the Defense Logistics Agency 11 shall submit to Congress a report describing the needs of 12 the domestic manufacturing base for the mass production 13 of a COVID–19 vaccine, including the raw materials need- 14 ed and an identification of specific entities that could sup- 15 port such mass production. 16 (b) QUARTERLY REPORTS.— 17 (1) IN GENERAL.—Each quarter, the Director 18 of the Defense Logistics Agency shall submit to 19 Congress— 20 (A) an assessment of the identified needs, 21 personnel requirements, funding requirements, 22 and timelines and milestones of operations for 23 the response and recovery efforts of the Defense 24 Logistics Agency and the COVID–19 Joint Ac- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:17 Dec 27, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8943.IH H8943 KHAMMond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 8943 IH quisition Task Force during the COVID–19 1 pandemic; and 2 (B) a description of any challenges faced 3 in carrying out such efforts and recommenda- 4 tions to resolve such challenges. 5 (2) TERMINATION.—The requirement under 6 paragraph (1) shall terminate at the end of the first 7 quarter that begins after the national emergency de- 8 clared under the National Emergencies Act (50 9 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.), relating to the COVID–19 out- 10 break, terminates. 11 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:17 Dec 27, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H8943.IH H8943 KHAMMond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with BILLS