[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 8562 Introduced in House (IH)]

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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 Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Pandemic Essential Supplies Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) The global shortage of medical and sanitation supplies 
        due to the COVID-19 pandemic has paralyzed health care systems 
        and strained emergency response capabilities of governments 
        around the world.
            (2) The pandemic demonstrated the interdependent nature and 
        the limitations of global supply chains as both our nation and 
        the world competes for a finite number of suppliers for 
        critical medical and sanitation resources.
            (3) Providing a comprehensive understanding of how to 
        procure, manage, deliver, and sustain at scale was necessary 
        during this crisis, and will be critical as the U.S. 
        replenishes current supplies and plans for future crises.
            (4) The Federal Emergency Management Agency and the 
        Department of Health and Human Services were challenged to 
        rapidly identify, procure and deploy large quantities of goods 
        and services while simultaneously responding and planning for 
        the recovery of the United States from this global pandemic.
            (5) The traditional interagency emergency response 
        structure, built to respond to natural disasters typically 
        defined by geographic locales, does not have the capacity to 
        scale quickly to address a crisis of this magnitude.
            (6) The Department of Defense leveraged acquisition and 
        supply chain expertise are uniquely suited to rapidly scale and 
        establish acquisition strategies, for both procurement of 
        supplies, expansion of industrial capabilities and distribution 
        of such supplies as the COVID-19 response requirements evolved.
            (7) As the combat logistics support agency for the Nation, 
        the Defense Logistics Agency (``DLA'') manages the global 
        supply chain--from raw materials to end user to disposition--
        for the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, Coast 
        Guard, 11 combatant commands, other Federal agencies, and 
        partner and allied nations.
            (8) DLA has supported the COVID-19 response of the 
        Department of Defense by increasing the production and 
        acquisition of critical items through existing large-scale 
        contracts across multiple supply chains.
            (9) As a logistics integrator and acquisition and service 
        provider, DLA has the unique capability to manage the supply 
        chain that few other organizations, public or private, can 
        match to assist States, local governments, hospitals, and 
        health care providers around the country with supplies so they 
        are not needlessly competing against one another.
            (10) Additionally, the COVID-19 Joint Acquisition Task 
        Force (``JATF''), established by the Undersecretary of Defense 
        for Acquisition and Sustainment, plays a critical role in the 
        national response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
            (11) The JATF's understanding of reliance on foreign 
        suppliers, often many tiers down in the supply chain, and the 
        impact of that reliance on producing at scale has allowed the 
        Secretary of Health and Human Services to better plan for 
        replenishment of the Strategic National Stockpile.
            (12) DLA should provide direct support for States during 
        the COVID-19 pandemic and future emergencies.
            (13) DLA can identify private sector capacity and assess 
        additional needs for rapid mass production a COVID-19 vaccine 
        in advance of approval by the Federal Drug Administration of 
        such vaccine.
            (14) The Secretary of Defense should be prepared to 
        reconvene the JATF to support future emergencies such as COVID-
        19.

SEC. 3. DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY SYSTEM TO ACCESS COVERED ITEMS DURING 
              A COVERED EMERGENCY.

    (a) Establishment.--Not later than 90 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Director of the Defense Logistics Agency 
shall--
            (1) establish and maintain an online system, or expand 
        access to an existing system, through which States and local 
        governments affected by a covered emergency may submit requests 
        for covered items; and
            (2) establish procedures for fulfilling such requests.
    (b) Funding.--The Secretary of Homeland Security, acting through 
the Director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, shall transfer 
such amounts as determined by the Secretary of Defense, acting through 
the Director of the Defense Logistics Agency, to be derived from the 
unobligated balances of amounts appropriated or otherwise made 
available to the Disaster Relief Fund, to reimburse costs that the 
Secretary of Defense certifies to the Secretary of Homeland Security 
were incurred to carry out this section.
    (c) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) Covered emergency.--The term ``covered emergency'' 
        means--
                    (A) a major disaster declared by the President 
                under section 401 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster 
                Relief and Emergency Assistance Act; or
                    (B) an emergency or disaster declared by a Governor 
                of a State or the head of a unit of local government.
            (2) Covered item.--The term ``covered item'' means a good 
        or service determined by the Director of the Defense Logistics 
        Agency to be essential to respond to a covered emergency.
            (3) Unit of local government.--The term ``unit of local 
        government'' means a county, municipality, town, township, 
        village, parish, borough, or other unit of general government.

SEC. 4. COVID-19 JOINT ACQUISITION TASK FORCE.

    The Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment 
shall designate the Director of the Defense Logistics Agency as the 
head of the COVID-19 Joint Acquisition Task Force (established on March 
25, 2020).

SEC. 5. REPORTS.

    (a) Mass Production of COVID-19 Vaccine.--Not later than 60 days 
after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Director of the 
Defense Logistics Agency shall submit to Congress a report describing 
the needs of the domestic manufacturing base for the mass production of 
a COVID-19 vaccine, including the raw materials needed and an 
identification of specific entities that could support such mass 
production.
    (b) Quarterly Reports.--
            (1) In general.--Each quarter, the Director of the Defense 
        Logistics Agency shall submit to Congress--
                    (A) an assessment of the identified needs, 
                personnel requirements, funding requirements, and 
                timelines and milestones of operations for the response 
                and recovery efforts of Defense Logistics Agency and 
                the COVID-19 Joint Acquisition Task Force during the 
                COVID-19 pandemic; and
                    (B) a description of any challenges faced in 
                carrying out such efforts and recommendations to 
                resolve such challenges.
            (2) Termination.--The requirement under paragraph (1) shall 
        terminate at the end of the first quarter that begins after the 
        national emergency declared under the National Emergencies Act 
        (50 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.), relating to the COVID-19 outbreak, 
        terminates.
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