[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 8943 Introduced in House (IH)]

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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 
   Committee on Armed Services, and in addition to the Committees on 
Financial 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 concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 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 
  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.

    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 Supplies Production 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 Under Secretary 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 vaccines and supplies during the COVID-19 
        pandemic and during future emergencies.
            (14) The Department of Health and Human Services estimated 
        that healthcare providers may need 3,500,000,000 face masks to 
        meet potential long-term need.
            (15) Testing capacity and testing materials have not met 
        existing needs, as well as therapeutics.

SEC. 3. USE OF DEFENSE PRODUCTION ACT AUTHORITY FOR EQUIPMENT NECESSARY 
              FOR LIMITING SPREAD OF COVID-19.

    (a) In General.--Immediately upon the enactment of this Act, the 
President shall--
            (1) determine under section 101(b) of the Defense 
        Production Act of 1950 (50 U.S.C. 4511(b)) that--
                    (A) medical equipment and supplies, testing 
                materials, ventilators, and personal protective 
                equipment are scarce and critical material essential to 
                the national defense; and
                    (B) the requirements of the national defense for 
                such equipment cannot be met without exercising the 
                authorities provided by the Defense Production Act of 
                1950 (50 U.S.C. 4501 et seq.);
            (2) identify private sector capacity to produce such 
        equipment; and
            (3) exercise the authorities provided by the Defense 
        Production Act of 1950 to the extent necessary--
                    (A) to mitigate, where possible, the dependency of 
                the United States on overseas sources of supply of each 
                such materials during the global shortage; and
                    (B) to ensure the immediate adequacy of productive 
                capacity and supply of ventilators, N-95 masks and 
                other essential personal protective equipment, 
                therapeutics, and tests and testing supplies needed to 
                address the COVID-19 crisis based on an assessment of 
                needs.
    (b) Reports.--Beginning on the date of the declaration of a 
national pandemic or the declaration of a public health emergency and 
ending on the date that is 7 days after the termination of such 
pandemic or emergency, the head of the agency coordinating the National 
response to the pandemic or emergency, shall submit to Congress weekly 
reports on--
            (1) the status of the production of equipment, ventilators, 
        medical protective gear, therapeutics, and tests and testing 
        supplies;
            (2) available resources; and
            (3) the plan for the distribution of equipment, 
        ventilators, medical protective gear, therapeutics, and tests 
        and testing supplies.
    (c) Termination.--This section, and authorities carried out 
pursuant to this section, shall terminate on the date on which the 
national emergency declared under the National Emergencies Act (50 
U.S.C. 1601 et seq.), relating to the COVID-19 outbreak, terminates.

SEC. 4. 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 a 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) 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) 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) The term ``unit of local government'' means a county, 
        municipality, town, township, village, parish, borough, Tribe, 
        or other unit of general government.

SEC. 5. 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. 6. 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 the 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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