Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said as much late last month as the government acknowledged a significant gap between the number of masks it needed for health care workers and the number of masks it had actually stockpiled. government rushes those products out to the states, it's seeking the flexibility to order private industry to boost production and address shortcomings in the stockpile.Īdministration officials had signaled for weeks that they might turn to the Defense Production Act. Those could include masks for health care workers, ventilators, gloves and eye protectors.Įven as the U.S. The number of cases is rapidly rising, creating an urgent need for additional medical supplies. Other provisions authorize the federal government to establish voluntary agreements with private industry and to block foreign mergers and acquisitions seen as harmful to national security. It also authorizes the president to use loans, direct purchases and other incentives to boost the production of critical goods and essential materials. The act authorizes the president to require companies to prioritize government contracts and orders seen as necessary for the national defense, with the goal of ensuring that the private sector is producing enough goods needed to meet a war effort or other national emergency. Over the decades, the law's powers have been understood to encompass not only times of war but also domestic emergency preparedness and recovery from terrorist attacks and natural disasters. The act gives the federal government broad authority to direct private companies to meet the needs of the national defense. Trump, referring to himself as a “wartime president,” said he would use the law's powers “in case we need it” as the country braces for an expected surge in the number of coronavirus cases and a strain on resources. It's been invoked multiple times since then to help the federal government for a range of emergencies including war, hurricanes and terrorism prevention. Truman amid concerns about supplies and equipment during that war. The Defense Production Act of 1950 was signed by President Harry S. WASHINGTON (AP) - President Donald Trump on Wednesday invoked a Korean War-era law as part of his response to the coronavirus pandemic, aiming to boost private industry production of supplies needed for the health crisis.
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