I 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 8553 

To provide for expanded capacity to respond to pandemic disaster, and for 

other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

OCTOBER 9, 2020 

Mr. CARTWRIGHT (for himself, Mr. MORELLE, Mr. PETERSON, and Mr. 

PAPPAS) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and in addition to the Committees on Energy and Commerce, Science, Space, and Technology, 

Armed Services, and Veterans’ Affairs, 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 provide for expanded capacity to respond to pandemic 

disaster, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Managing American 

5 Knowledge and Equipment to Prevent Pandemic Emer6 gencies Act’’ or the ‘‘MAKE PPE Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. CAPACITY TO RESPOND TO PANDEMIC DISASTER. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 102 of the Robert T. 

3 Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act 

4 (42 U.S.C. 5122) is amended by inserting ‘‘any public 

5 health emergency (including any pandemic or virus 

6 threat),’’ after ‘‘drought),’’. 

7 (b) WHOLE OF SOCIETY REILIENCY.—Section 

8 2802(b) of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 

9 300hh–1(b)) is amended— 

10 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (7), (8), (9), 

11 and (10) as paragraphs (8), (9), (10), and (11), re12 spectively; and 

13 (2) by inserting after paragraph (6) the fol14 lowing: 

15 ‘‘(7) WHOLE OF SOCIETY RESILIENCY.—Devel16 oping a capacity for long-term response to a major 

17 pandemic or other infectious disease outbreak, in18 cluding the manufacture and distribution of critical 

19 pharmaceutical and nonpharmaceutical supplies, in20 cluding personal protective equipment, needed to 

21 slow the spread of a pandemic or other infectious 

22 disease while preserving essential functions of soci23 ety.’’. 

24 (c) DEVELOPMENT OF CAPACITY.—Title II of the 

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1 ance Act (42 U.S.C. 5131 et seq.) is amended by adding 

2 at the end the following: 

3 ‘‘SEC. 205. CAPACITY FOR MATERIALS NEEDED. 

4 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall develop 

5 the capacity to coordinate the procurement, distribution, 

6 and tracking of critical nonpharmaceutical materials needs 

7 of the United States during a major pandemic or other 

8 infectious disease outbreak of regional, national, or global 

9 scale. 

10 ‘‘(b) COLLECTION AND DISSEMINATION OF DATA.— 

11 The Administrator shall develop the capacity to coordinate 

12 the collection and dissemination of data to track national 

13 demand for critical nonpharmaceutical materials during a 

14 major pandemic or other infectious disease outbreak of re15 gional, national, or global scale.’’. 

16 SEC. 3. COORDINATING PROCUREMENT AND DISTRIBU17 TION DURING A PANDEMIC EMERGENCY. 

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Executive Office of the Presi19 dent, the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Man20 agement Agency, and the Assistant Secretary of Health 

21 and Human Services for Preparedness and Response shall 

22 jointly develop a protocol under which the Federal Emer23 gency Management Agency shall— 

24 (1) assume responsibility for coordinating Fed25 eral procurement of critical nonpharmaceutical supVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:13 Oct 31, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8553.IH H8553

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1 plies during a national public health emergency 

2 based on the severity and extent of such an emer3 gency; and 

4 (2) implement the companion strategy devel5 oped under section 5. 

6 (b) COORDINATION.—In developing the protocol 

7 under subsection (a), the Executive Office of the Presi8 dent, the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Man9 agement Agency, and the Assistant Secretary of Health 

10 and Human Services for Preparedness and Response shall 

11 consult with the Director of the Centers for Disease Con12 trol and Prevention, the Commanding General of the 

13 Corps of Engineers, and other heads of Federal agencies 

14 determined necessary by the Administrator of the Federal 

15 Emergency Management Agency and the Assistant Sec16 retary of Health and Human Services for Preparedness 

17 and Response. 

18 (c) CONTENTS.—The protocol developed under sub19 section (a) shall— 

20 (1) specify the categories of personal protective 

21 equipment and related items to be coordinated by 

22 the Federal Emergency Management Agency, in line 

23 with the strategy for critical materials described in 

24 section 206 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief 


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1 and Emergency Assistance Act, added by this Act; 

2 and 

3 (2) consider the scale and severity of an emer4 gency in determining when and how the Federal 

5 Emergency Management Agency shall exercise au6 thorities under the protocol, as well as the process 

7 by which the Assistant Secretary of Health and 

8 Human Services for Preparedness and Response, in9 cluding the Director of the Strategic National Stock10 pile, shall work in coordination with the Federal 

11 Emergency Management Agency. 

12 (d) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date 

13 of enactment of this Act, the Executive Office of the Presi14 dent, the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Man15 agement Agency, and the Assistant Secretary of Health 

16 and Human Services for Preparedness and Response shall 

17 jointly submit to the relevant committees of jurisdiction 

18 of the House of Representatives and the Senate, including 

19 the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Rep20 resentatives and the Senate, a report detailing the protocol 

21 developed under subsection (a), including any minority or 

22 dissenting views of such officers. 

23 (e) REGULATIONS.—Not later than 1 year after the 

24 submission of the report under subsection (d), the Admin25 istrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency 


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1 shall issue such regulations as are necessary to implement 

2 the protocol developed under subsection (a). 

3 SEC. 4. CAPACITY TO MANAGE CRITICAL SUPPLIES. 

4 Title II of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and 

5 Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5131 et seq.) is fur6 ther amended by adding at the end the following: 

7 ‘‘SEC. 206. OFFICE OF PANDEMIC PREPAREDNESS AND RE8 SPONSE. 

9 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall estab10 lish an Office of Pandemic Preparedness and Response 

11 within the Federal Emergency Management Agency to co12 ordinate the procurement, distribution, and tracking of 

13 the critical nonpharmaceutical materials needs of the 

14 United States, when necessary, during a public health 

15 emergency. 

16 ‘‘(b) ASSOCIATE ADMINISTRATOR.—The Adminis17 trator shall appoint an Associate Administrator to run the 

18 Office of Pandemic Preparedness and Response. 

19 ‘‘(c) DUTIES.— 

20 ‘‘(1) OFFICE.— 

21 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Office of Pan22 demic Preparedness and Response shall— 

23 ‘‘(i) develop and maintain a data re24 pository that tracks demand for critical 

25 nonpharmaceutical materials in the event 


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1 of a national pandemic emergency, includ2 ing 30-, 60-, and 90-day demand projec3 tions; 

4 ‘‘(ii) require the data repository de5 scribed in clause (i) to track inventory and 

6 productive capacity to meet national crit7 ical nonpharmaceutical material needs, in8 cluding 30-, 60-, and 90-day inventory and 

9 productive capacity forecasts; and 

10 ‘‘(iii) develop, publish, implement, and 

11 maintain a stakeholder engagement plan, 

12 including ensuring that the Federal Emer13 gency Management Agency shall consult 

14 with private-sector representatives and re15 gional and local public health and emer16 gency management organizations to coordi17 nate data collection, in accordance with ap18 plicable privacy or other data collection 

19 and storage regulations or statutes. 

20 ‘‘(B) NONPUBLIC INFORMATION.—The 

21 data repository developed under subparagraph 

22 (A) shall not be public. 

23 ‘‘(C) PUBLIC INFORMATION.—The Office 

24 shall make available summary information of 

25 the data repository in a public format. 


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1 ‘‘(D) CONSULTATION.—In developing the 

2 data repository and stakeholder engagement 

3 plan under subparagraph (A), the Associate Ad4 ministrator shall consult with ASPR to avoid 

5 duplication and to encourage coordinated data 

6 collection and use. 

7 ‘‘(E) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Annually, 

8 the Associate Administrator shall submit to 

9 Congress, and make public, a report that in10 cludes a list of agencies or entities in compli11 ance and noncompliance with data collection ef12 forts necessary for the data repository devel13 oped under subparagraph (A). 

14 ‘‘(2) ASSOCIATE ADMINISTRATOR.—The Asso15 ciate Administrator of the Office of Pandemic Pre16 paredness and Response shall convene exercises not 

17 less than biennially with stakeholders (including sen18 ior representatives of the Food and Drug Adminis19 tration, the Department of Homeland Security, the 

20 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the De21 partment of Health and Human Services (except the 

22 Assistant Secretary of Health and Human Services 

23 for Preparedness and Response), the National Insti24 tute of Health, the Veterans Affairs Administration, 

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1 ice, and the United States intelligence community) 

2 determined by the Associate Administrator to be es3 sential to the pandemic response to ensure the agen4 cy’s readiness to procure, distribute, and track crit5 ical nonpharmaceutical materials during a public 

6 health emergency.’’. 

7 SEC. 5. PLANNING TO MEET CRITICAL SUPPLY NEEDS. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Associate Administrator of 

9 the Office of Pandemic Preparedness and Response of the 

10 Federal Emergency Management Agency, in coordination 

11 with the Assistant Secretary of Health and Human Serv12 ices for Preparedness and Response, shall develop a com13 panion strategy to accompany the National Health Secu14 rity Strategy under section 2802 of the Public Health 

15 Service Act (42 U.S.C. 300hh–1) in order to ensure the 

16 availability of critical nonpharmaceutical supplies and the 

17 ability to distribute such supplies during a public health 

18 emergency that triggers the protocols under section 3 of 

19 this Act. 

20 (b) CONTENTS.—The companion strategy under sub21 section (a) shall— 

22 (1) include an assessment of critical non23 pharmaceutical materials, particularly personal pro24 tective equipment and other ancillary medical sup25 plies, needed during a pandemic; 


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1 (2) take into account the best available science; 

2 (3) consider different responses to differing lev3 els of severity of a public health emergency, based 

4 on input from stakeholders, as well as from external 

5 sources, including the National Academies, academic 

6 sources, State, Tribal, territorial, and local govern7 ments, and the private sector; 

8 (4) evaluate the reliability and security of sup9 pliers necessary to ensure the production, procure10 ment, and distribution of critical nonpharmaceutical 

11 materials, including considering— 

12 (A) supplier diversity, country of origin, 

13 supply chain stability, and cybersecurity risk to 

14 distribution and to production facilities; 

15 (B) priority to domestic sources of supply; 

16 and 

17 (C) how to maximize the use of materials 

18 produced in the United States in accordance 

19 with section 3 of this Act; and 

20 (5) include strategies for last mile distribution 

21 to ensure supplies get into the possession of end 

22 users. 

23 (c) PUBLICATION.—Not later than 1 year after the 

24 date of enactment of this Act, the Associate Administrator 

25 shall submit to the relevant committees of jurisdiction of 


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1 the House of Representatives and the Senate and publish 

2 publicly in unclassified and classified (if necessary) 

3 versions. 

4 (d) UPDATE.—The Associate Administrator, in con5 sultation with stakeholders shall update the companion 

6 strategy under subsection (a) not less often than every 5 

7 years. 

8 (e) STAKEHOLDERS DEFINED.—In this section, the 

9 term ‘‘stakeholders’’ means senior representatives of the 

10 Food and Drug Administration, the Department of Home11 land Security, the Centers for Disease Control and Pre12 vention, the Department of Health and Human Services 

13 (except the Assistant Secretary of Health and Human 

14 Services for Preparedness and Response), the National In15 stitute of Health, the Veterans Affairs Administration, the 

16 Department of Defense, the Indian Health Service, and 

17 the United States intelligence community. 

18 SEC. 6. PLANNING FOR PRODUCTION. 

19 Section 319C–2(b)(1) of the Public Health Service 

20 Act (42 U.S.C. 247d–3b) is amended— 

21 (1) in subparagraph (A)(iv) by striking ‘‘; and’’ 

22 and inserting a semicolon; 

23 (2) in subparagraph (B) by striking ‘‘; or’’ and 

24 inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 


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1 (3) by inserting after subparagraph (B) the fol2 lowing: 

3 ‘‘(C) prepare a plan and be capable of co4 ordinating inventory management activities dur5 ing a national public health emergency with 

6 State and Federal officials; or’’. 

7 SEC. 7. PRESERVING PRODUCTIVE CAPACITY. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 2533a(b) of title 10, 

9 United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the 

10 following: 

11 ‘‘(5) Critical nonpharmaceutical materials iden12 tified under section 206 of the Robert T. Stafford 

13 Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act.’’. 

14 (b) VETERANS ADMINISTRATION.— 

15 (1) COVERED PURCHASES.— 

16 (A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara17 graph (B), any covered item purchased by the 

18 Secretary of the Department of Veterans Af19 fairs shall be from the United States. For pur20 poses of this subsection, ‘‘from the United 

21 States’’ means that 100 percent of a product is 

22 grown, reprocessed, reused, or produced in the 

23 United States. 

24 (B) EXCEPTIONS.—Notwithstanding sub25 paragraph (A), the Secretary may waive the reVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:13 Oct 31, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8553.IH H8553

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1 quirements of such subparagraph if the Sec2 retary determines that satisfactory quality and 

3 sufficient quantity of any such covered item 

4 from the United States cannot be procured as 

5 and when needed at United States market 

6 prices. This subsection shall not apply to cov7 ered items that are or that include materials 

8 determined to be non-available in accordance 

9 with section 25.104 of title 48 of the Federal 

10 Acquisition Regulation. 

11 (2) EXCEPTION FOR SMALL PURCHASES.— 

12 Paragraph (1) shall not apply to purchases for 

13 amounts not greater than $150,000. A proposed 

14 purchase or contract for an amount greater than 

15 $150,000 may not be divided into several purchases 

16 or contracts for lesser amounts in order to qualify 

17 for this exception. 

18 (3) APPLICABILITY.—The requirements of this 

19 subsection shall apply with respect to a purchase of 

20 a covered item made pursuant to paragraph (1) on 

21 or after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

22 (4) DEFINITION OF COVERED ITEM.—In this 

23 subsection, the term ‘‘covered item’’ means a critical 

24 nonpharmaceutical material identified under section 


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1 206 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and 

2 Emergency Assistance Act. 

3 (c) WAIVER OF CERTAIN REQUIREMENTS.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other 

5 provision of law, the Assistant Secretary of Health 

6 and Human Services for Preparedness and Response 

7 may waive the requirements of section 2533a(b)(5). 

8 (2) REGULATIONS.—The Assistant Secretary of 

9 Health and Human Services for Preparedness and 

10 Response shall issue such regulations as are nec11 essary to implement paragraph (1). 

12 (3) CONTENTS.—In issuing regulations under 

13 paragraph (2), the Assistant Secretary of Health 

14 and Human Services for Preparedness and Response 

15 shall take into account— 

16 (A) that American-made products shall be 

17 prioritized in purchasing; 

18 (B) that the prices to be paid should not 

19 be generally within historic norms or in line 

20 with current market prices; 

21 (C) that when sourcing from foreign coun22 tries is necessary, priority should be given to 

23 countries with reliable supply chains and long24 standing relationships with the United States; 

25 and 


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1 (D) that waivers to purchase foreign-pro2 duced goods may be authorized when American3 produced goods are not available in sufficient 

4 quantities, at reasonable prices, and at satisfac5 tory quality. 

6 SEC. 8. EXPANDING PRODUCTIVE CAPACITY AND RESIL7 IENCE. 

8 (a) PRODUCTIVE CAPACITY GRANTS AND TECHNICAL

9 ASSISTANCE.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the National 

11 Institute of Standards and Technology, in consulta12 tion with the Manufacturing Extension Partnership, 

13 shall establish a program to provide grants and tech14 nical assistance to qualified United States manufac15 turers that can demonstrate current capacity or fu16 ture capacity to produce critical nonpharmaceutical 

17 materials identified under section 206 of the Robert 

18 T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assist19 ance Act that are designated by the Assistant Sec20 retary of Health and Human Services for Prepared21 ness and Response as unable to be sourced in suffi22 cient and reasonably available commercial quantities 

23 and of a satisfactory quality in the United States. 

24 (2) APPLICATION.—To be eligible to receive a 

25 grant or technical assistance under this subsection, 


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1 qualified United States manufacturers shall submit 

2 to the Director an application at such time, in such 

3 manner, and containing such information as the Di4 rector may require. 

5 (3) AWARENESS CAMPAIGNS.—In carrying out 

6 this subsection, Manufacturing Extension Partner7 ship programs shall conduct awareness campaigns in 

8 economically distressed areas, including qualified op9 portunity zones (as such term is defined in section 

10 1400Z–1 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986). 

11 (4) REQUIREMENT.—In selecting grant recipi12 ents and providing technical assistance under this 

13 subsection, the Director shall provide not less than 

14 40 percent of funds made available to carry out this 

15 section to economically distressed areas, including 

16 qualified opportunity zones (as such term is defined 

17 in section 1400Z–1 of the Internal Revenue Code of 

18 1986). 

19 (5) PRIORITIZATION.—In selecting grant recipi20 ents and providing technical assistance under this 

21 subsection, the Director shall prioritize recipients 

22 based on such recipient’s ability to address shortfalls 

23 in the strategy developed under section 5. 


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1 (6) ELIGIBLE USES.—A grant provided under 

2 this subsection may be used for capital investments 

3 and labor. 

4 (7) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

5 There is authorized to carry out this subsection 

6 $100,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2021 through 

7 2026. 

8 (b) AT-HOME EQUIPMENT GRANTS.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the National 

10 Institute of Standards and Technology shall estab11 lish a program to provide grants to support the de12 velopment of plans and educational materials to as13 sist the United States public in making temporary 

14 masks or other equipment as determined appropriate 

15 by the Director, at home. 

16 (2) APPLICATION.—To be eligible to receive a 

17 grant under this subsection, an entity shall submit 

18 an application to the Director at such time, in such 

19 manner, and containing such information as the Di20 rector may require. 

21 (3) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

22 There is authorized to carry out this subsection 

23 $25,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2021 through 

24 2026. 

Æ 


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