Federal Emergency Pandemic Response Act 2020-10-19 Reported to Senate Federal Emergency Pandemic Response Act

This bill addresses the issue of national pandemic preparedness and response. It directs the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) or another federal agency, as determined by the OMB, to convene an Interagency Task Force to analyze U.S. preparedness for national pandemics.

The task force shall, among other things (1) determine the mission of the Strategic National Stockpile and clearly define it, and (2) assess the current and future inventory needs of the stockpile.

The task force must report at specified intervals, including (1) identifying communities where racial and ethnic disparities in COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) infection, hospitalization, and death rates are out of proportion to the community's population by a certain threshold; and (2) recommendations about how to best allocate critical COVID-19 resources to such communities.

During pandemic and related public health emergencies involving the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the National Response Coordination Center, acting through the appropriate FEMA Regional Administrators, shall (1) request voluntary information from state, local, tribal, and territorial governments regarding their holdings of equipment and medical supplies; and (2) share information with such governments regarding the federal inventory and the plan developed.

The Department of Health and Human Services, in coordination with the Department of Homeland Security, may sell drugs, vaccines and other biological products, medical devices, or other supplies maintained in the Strategic National Stockpile under specified circumstances.

]]> 2020-07-02 Introduced in Senate Federal Emergency Pandemic Response Act

This bill addresses the issue of national pandemic preparedness and response. It directs the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to convene an Interagency Task Force to analyze U.S. preparedness for national pandemics.

The task force shall, among other things (1) determine the mission of the Strategic National Stockpile and clearly define it, and (2) assess the current and future inventory needs of the stockpile.

The bill establishes within (1) the executive branch the Unified Coordination Group led by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), and (2) FEMA a Supply Chain Stabilization Task Force to address the supply of critical protective and life saving equipment.

The National Response Coordination Center, acting through the appropriate FEMA Regional Administrators, shall (1) request voluntary information from states regarding their holdings of equipment and medical supply necessary in the event of a pandemic, and (2) share information with states regarding the federal government's current inventory and plan.

FEMA, in coordination with the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), shall monitor the inventory stockpile levels, economic and health care models, and evaluate available data on supply and demand trends to restock and increase the inventory of supplies maintained in the stockpile.

The bill authorizes DHS to transfer personal protective equipment or medically necessary equipment to HHS during a declared public health emergency.

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