Bill Summary
The Public Health Emergency Production Act of 2020 is a bill that requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to use authorities under the Defense Production Act of 1950 to prioritize contracts necessary for pandemic preparedness and response. This means that the Secretary must ensure that contracts related to pandemic preparedness and response take priority over other contracts, and that the necessary materials and resources are allocated in a way that promotes public health. The bill also includes provisions for reporting on actions taken under the Defense Production Act, using funds for pandemic preparedness and response, and establishing an office in the Department of Health and Human Services to administer these efforts. Additionally, the bill requires the Defense Production Act Committee to provide regular reports on the use of these authorities during the COVID-19 pandemic, and for the Inspector General of the Department of Agriculture to report on the use of these authorities in relation to meat production during the pandemic.
Possible Impacts
1. The prioritization of contracts necessary for pandemic preparedness and response may affect people by ensuring that essential supplies and services needed during a pandemic are readily available and given priority over other contracts. This can help to prevent shortages and ensure timely response to an emergency situation.
2. The use of the Defense Production Act to control the distribution of critical materials in the civilian market can affect people by potentially limiting their access to certain products or resources. This may be necessary in order to ensure that these materials are available for public health purposes, but it could also lead to difficulties for individuals who rely on those materials for their daily lives.
3. The establishment of an interagency rotation program and the creation of an office within the Department of Health and Human Services to administer the Defense Production Act could affect people by potentially improving coordination and response efforts during a public health emergency. This could lead to better use of resources and more effective response to a pandemic, ultimately benefiting individuals and communities.
[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 4050 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
<DOC>
116th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 4050
To require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to use
authorities under the Defense Production Act of 1950 to prioritize
contracts necessary to promote pandemic preparedness and response, and
for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
June 23, 2020
Ms. Duckworth (for herself, Mr. Van Hollen, and Mr. King) introduced
the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee
on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to use
authorities under the Defense Production Act of 1950 to prioritize
contracts necessary to promote pandemic preparedness and response, 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 ``Public Health Emergency Production
Act of 2020''.
SEC. 2. PRIORITIZATION OF CONTRACTS NECESSARY TO PROMOTE PANDEMIC
PREPAREDNESS AND RESPONSE.
(a) In General.--Title I of the Defense Production Act of 1950 (50
U.S.C. 4511 et seq.) is amended by inserting after section 101 the
following:
``SEC. 101A. PRIORITIZATION OF CONTRACTS NECESSARY TO PROMOTE PANDEMIC
PREPAREDNESS AND RESPONSE.
``(a) In General.--The Secretary of Health and Human Services
shall--
``(1) require that performance under contracts or orders
(other than contracts of employment) that the Secretary deems
necessary or appropriate to promote preparedness for and
response to a pandemic shall take priority over performance
under any other contract or order;
``(2) for the purpose of assuring such priority, require
acceptance and performance of such contracts or orders in
preference to other contracts or orders by persons the
Secretary finds to be capable of their performance; and
``(3) allocate materials, services, and facilities in such
manner, upon such conditions, and to such extent as the
Secretary shall deem necessary or appropriate to promote the
public health.
``(b) Use of Authority.--The powers granted by this section shall
be used to control the general distribution of a material in the
civilian market if the Secretary finds that--
``(1) such material is a scarce and critical material
essential to public health; and
``(2) the requirements of public health for such material
cannot otherwise be met without creating a significant
dislocation of the normal distribution of such material in the
civilian market to such a degree as to create appreciable
hardship.''.
(b) Conforming Amendments.--The Defense Production Act of 1950 (50
U.S.C. 4501 et seq.) is amended--
(1) in section 102 (50 U.S.C. 4512), in the last sentence,
by inserting ``, 101A,'' after ``sections 101''; and
(2) in section 701(e) (50 U.S.C. 4551(e)), by inserting
``or the Secretary of Health and Human Services makes a
determination to exercise any authority to allocate any
material pursuant to section 101A,'' after ``section 101,''.
SEC. 3. REPORTING OF ACTIONS TAKEN UNDER TITLE I OF DEFENSE PRODUCTION
ACT OF 1950 IN FEDERAL PROCUREMENT DATA SYSTEM.
Title I of the Defense Production Act of 1950 (50 U.S.C. 4511 et
seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:
``SEC. 109. REPORTING OF ACTIONS IN FEDERAL PROCUREMENT DATA SYSTEM.
``Any action taken under section 101 or 101A shall be reported in
the Federal Procurement Data System.''.
SEC. 4. USE OF DEFENSE PRODUCTION ACT FUND FOR PANDEMIC PREPAREDNESS
AND RESPONSE.
Section 304 of the Defense Production Act of 1950 (50 U.S.C. 4534)
is amended--
(1) by striking subsection (c) and inserting the following:
``(c) Use of Fund.--
``(1) In general.--The Fund shall be available to carry out
the provisions and purposes of this title, subject to the
limitations set forth in this Act and in appropriations Acts.
``(2) Distribution.--The Fund manager designated under
subsection (e) shall ensure that amounts in the Fund are fairly
distributed to the office established under section 305 and all
other Federal agencies with responsibility for carrying out the
provisions and purposes of this title.'';
(2) by striking subsection (e);
(3) by redesignating subsections (f) and (g) as subsections
(e) and (f), respectively;
(4) in subsection (e), as redesignated by paragraph (3)--
(A) in paragraph (2), by striking ``; and'' and
inserting a semicolon;
(B) in paragraph (3), by striking the period at the
end and inserting ``; and''; and
(C) by adding at the end the following:
``(4) coordinating with other Federal agencies to ensure
that amounts in the Fund are made available to agencies other
than the agency of the Fund manager, especially for public
health programs.''; and
(5) by adding at the end the following:
``(g) Interagency Rotation Program.--
``(1) In general.--The Secretary of Health and Human
Services and the Secretary of Defense shall establish an
interagency rotation program that provides for personnel of the
components of the Department of Health and Human Services
specified in paragraph (2) to take rotational assignments
within the Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense
for Industrial Policy, and for personnel of that Office to take
rotational assignments within such components, for the purposes
of--
``(A) strengthening working relationships between
agencies;
``(B) promoting interagency experience; and
``(C) ensuring the amounts in the Fund enable the
use of highly tailored economic incentives to boost the
manufacturing of critical public health resources that
are vital to effective pandemic preparedness and
response in the United States.
``(2) Components specified.--The components of the
Department of Health and Human Services specified in this
paragraph are the following:
``(A) The Office of the Assistant Secretary for
Preparedness and Response.
``(B) The Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention.
``(C) The National Institutes of Health.''.
SEC. 5. ESTABLISHMENT OF OFFICE IN DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN
SERVICES TO ADMINISTER TITLE III OF DEFENSE PRODUCTION
ACT OF 1950.
(a) In General.--Title III of the Defense Production Act of 1950
(50 U.S.C. 4531 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:
``SEC. 305. ESTABLISHMENT OF OFFICE IN DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN
SERVICES.
``(a) In General.--There is established in the Office of the
Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response of the Department of
Health and Human Services an office (in this section referred to as the
`office') to be responsible for planning for the use of, reporting on,
and implementation of authorities of the Department under this title
and other provisions of this Act.
``(b) Pandemic Preparedness and Response.--In planning for the use
of and implementing authorities under subsection (a), the office shall
use highly targeted economic incentives authorized under this Act to
boost the manufacturing of critical public health resources that are
vital to effective pandemic preparedness and response.
``(c) Head of Office.--
``(1) Appointment.--The Secretary of Health and Human
Services shall appoint an official of the Department, at the
level of Deputy Assistant Secretary or the equivalent, to be
the head of the office.
``(2) Defense production act committee representative.--The
head of the office appointed under paragraph (1) shall serve as
the representative of the Department of Health and Human
Services on the Defense Production Act Committee under section
722.
``(d) Waiver of Certain Requirements.--The requirements of sections
301(d)(1)(A), 302(d)(1), and subparagraphs (B) and (C) of section
303(a)(6) are waived for purposes of the use of authorities under this
Act by the office.
``(e) Report Required.--Not less frequently than annually, the head
of the office shall submit to Congress, and make available on a
publicly accessible internet website of the office, a report that
includes--
``(1) a summary of the work and plans of the office to
expand productive capacity and supply responsibilities under
this Act during the year preceding submission of the report;
``(2) an assessment of the elements of the industrial base
and technology base in the United States;
``(3) recommendations for appropriate remedial actions
under this Act or regulations prescribed to carry out this Act
to supply the emerging technologies needed to achieve robust
pandemic preparedness and response;
``(4) recommendations for legislation, regulations,
executive orders, or other action by the Federal Government
necessary to improve the use of the authorities provided by
this Act;
``(5) a summary of the findings and recommendations for
improving information sharing between departments, agencies,
and independent establishments of the Federal Government
relating to all aspects of this Act; and
``(6) any additional findings or recommendations the office
considers appropriate.
``(f) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be
appropriated such sums as may be necessary for the establishment of the
office.''.
(b) Conforming Amendment.--Section 722(b)(1)(A) of the Defense
Production Act of 1950 (50 U.S.C. 4567(b)(1)(A)) is amended by
inserting ``except as specified in section 305(c)(2),'' before ``the
head of''.
SEC. 6. REPORT ON USE OF DEFENSE PRODUCTION ACT OF 1950 AUTHORITIES TO
RESPOND TO COVID-19 PANDEMIC.
(a) In General.--Not less frequently than once a month during the
period described in subsection (b), the Defense Production Act
Committee established under section 722 of the Defense Production Act
of 1950 (50 U.S.C. 4567) shall submit to the appropriate congressional
committees and make available on a publicly accessible internet website
a report--
(1) describing activities carried out under titles I and
III of that Act related to efforts to respond to the
coronavirus disease 2019 (commonly referred to as ``COVID-19'')
pandemic; and
(2) assessing the effectiveness of interagency coordination
and the use of resources to respond to the pandemic.
(b) Period Described.--The period described in this subsection is
the period--
(1) beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act; and
(2) ending on the date on which the national emergency
declared under the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1601 et
seq.) with respect to COVID-19 terminates.
(c) Appropriate Congressional Committees Defined.--In this section,
the term ``appropriate congressional committees'' means the Committee
on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate and the Committee
on Financial Services of the House of Representatives
SEC. 7. REPORT ON USE OF DEFENSE PRODUCTION ACT OF 1950 AUTHORITIES IN
RELATION TO MEAT PRODUCTION DURING COVID-19 PANDEMIC.
Not later than 60 days after the date of the enactment of this Act,
the Inspector General of the Department of Agriculture shall submit to
Congress a report on the use of authorities under the Defense
Production Act of 1950 (50 U.S.C. 4501 et seq.) by the Secretary of
Agriculture to reopen, and ensure the continued operation of, meat
processing facilities during the COVID-19 pandemic, in a manner that
superseded more stringent standards issued by State governments.
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