IIB 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3125 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 19, 2021 

Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and 

Urban Affairs 

AN ACT 

To enhance authorities under the Defense Production Act 

of 1950 to respond to the COVID–19 emergency, to 

provide additional oversight of such authorities, 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, 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
2 

HR 3125 RFS

1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘COVID–19 Emergency 

3 Medical Supplies Enhancement Act of 2021’’. 

4 SEC. 2. DETERMINATION ON EMERGENCY SUPPLIES AND 

5 OTHER PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCIES. 

6 (a) COVID–19 PANDEMIC RESPONSE.—For the pur7 poses of section 101 of the Defense Production Act of 

8 1950 (50 U.S.C. 4511), the following materials may be 

9 deemed by the President, during the COVID–19 emer10 gency period, to be scarce and critical materials essential 

11 to the national defense and otherwise meet the require12 ments of section 101(b) of such Act, and funds available 

13 to implement such Act may be used for the purchase, pro14 duction (including the construction, repair, and retro15 fitting of government-owned facilities as necessary), or 

16 distribution of such materials: 

17 (1) In vitro diagnostic products (as defined in 

18 section 809.3(a) of title 21, Code of Federal Regula19 tions) for the detection of SARS–CoV–2 or the diag20 nosis of the virus that causes COVID–19, and the 

21 reagents and other materials necessary for pro22 ducing, conducting, or administering such products, 

23 and the machinery, equipment, laboratory capacity, 

24 or other technology necessary to produce such prod25 ucts. 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
3 

HR 3125 RFS

1 (2) Face masks and personal protective equip2 ment, including non-surgical isolation gowns, face 

3 shields, nitrile gloves, N–95 filtering facepiece res4 pirators, and any other masks or equipment (includ5 ing durable medical equipment) determined by the 

6 Secretary of Health and Human Services to be need7 ed to respond to the COVID–19 pandemic, and the 

8 materials, machinery, additional manufacturing lines 

9 or facilities, or other technology necessary to 

10 produce such equipment. 

11 (3) Drugs and devices (as those terms are de12 fined in the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act 

13 (21 U.S.C. 301 et seq.)) and biological products (as 

14 that term is defined by section 351 of the Public 

15 Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 262)) that are ap16 proved, cleared, licensed, or authorized under either 

17 of such Acts for use in treating or preventing 

18 COVID–19 and symptoms related to COVID–19, 

19 and any materials, manufacturing machinery, addi20 tional manufacturing or fill-finish lines or facilities, 

21 technology, or equipment (including durable medical 

22 equipment) necessary to produce or use such drugs, 

23 biological products, or devices (including syringes, 

24 vials, or other supplies or equipment related to deliv25 ery, distribution, or administration). 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
4 

HR 3125 RFS

1 (4) Any other medical equipment or supplies 

2 determined by the Secretary of Health and Human 

3 Services or the Secretary of Homeland Security to 

4 be scarce and critical materials essential to the na5 tional defense for purposes of section 101 of the De6 fense Production Act of 1950 (50 U.S.C. 4511). 

7 (b) FUTURE PREPAREDNESS FOR HEALTH EMER8 GENCIES.—Section 702(14) of the Defense Production 

9 Act of 1950 is amended by striking ‘‘and critical infra10 structure protection and restoration’’ and inserting ‘‘, crit11 ical infrastructure protection and restoration, and public 

12 health emergency preparedness and response activities’’. 

13 SEC. 3. EXERCISE OF TITLE I AUTHORITIES IN RELATION 

14 TO CONTRACTS BY STATE, LOCAL, OR TRIBAL 

15 GOVERNMENTS. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—In exercising authorities under 

17 title I of the Defense Production Act of 1950 (50 U.S.C. 

18 4511 et seq.) during the COVID–19 emergency period, the 

19 President (and any officer or employee of the United 

20 States to which authorities under such title I have been 

21 delegated)— 

22 (1) may exercise the prioritization or allocation 

23 authority provided in such title I to exclude any ma24 terials described in section 2 ordered by a State, 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
5 

HR 3125 RFS

1 local, or Tribal government that are scheduled to be 

2 delivered within 15 days of the time at which— 

3 (A) the purchase order or contract by the 

4 Federal Government for such materials is 

5 made; or 

6 (B) the materials are otherwise allocated 

7 by the Federal Government under the authori8 ties contained in such Act; and 

9 (2) shall, within 24 hours of any exercise of the 

10 prioritization or allocation authority provided in such 

11 title I— 

12 (A) to the extent practicable notify any 

13 State, local, or Tribal government if the Presi14 dent determines that the exercise of such au15 thorities would delay the receipt of such mate16 rials ordered by such government; and 

17 (B) take such steps as may be necessary, 

18 and as authorized by law, to ensure that such 

19 materials ordered by such government are deliv20 ered in the shortest possible period, consistent 

21 with the purposes of the Defense Production 

22 Act of 1950. 

23 (b) UPDATE TO FEDERAL REGULATIONS.— 

24 (1) DPAS.—Not later than 30 days after the 

25 date of enactment of this Act, the Defense Property 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
6 

HR 3125 RFS

1 Accountability System regulations (15 C.F.R. part 

2 700) shall be revised to reflect the requirements of 

3 subsection (a). 

4 (2) FAR.—Not later than 30 days after the re5 visions required by paragraph (1) are made, the 

6 Federal Acquisition Regulation shall be revised to 

7 reflect the requirements of subsection (a), consistent 

8 with the revisions made pursuant to paragraph (1). 

9 SEC. 4. ENGAGEMENT WITH THE PRIVATE SECTOR. 

10 (a) OUTREACH REPRESENTATIVE.—Consistent with 

11 the authorities in title VII of the Defense Production Act 

12 of 1950 (50 U.S.C. 4551 et seq.), the Administrator of 

13 the Federal Emergency Management Agency, in consulta14 tion with the Secretary of Health and Human Services, 

15 may designate or appoint, pursuant to section 703 of such 

16 Act (50 U.S.C. 4553), an individual to be known as the 

17 ‘‘Outreach Representative’’ for the COVID–19 emergency 

18 period. Such individual shall— 

19 (1) be appointed from among individuals with 

20 substantial experience in the production or distribu21 tion of medical supplies or equipment; and 

22 (2) act as the Government-wide single point of 

23 contact during the COVID–19 emergency for out24 reach to manufacturing companies and their sup25 pliers who may be interested in producing medical 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
7 

HR 3125 RFS

1 supplies or equipment, including the materials de2 scribed under section 2. 

3 (b) ENCOURAGING PARTNERSHIPS.—During the 

4 COVID–19 emergency period, the Outreach Representa5 tive shall seek to develop partnerships between companies, 

6 in coordination with any overall coordinator appointed by 

7 the President to oversee the response to the COVID–19 

8 emergency, including through the exercise of the authori9 ties delegated by the President under section 708 of the 

10 Defense Production Act of 1950 (50 U.S.C. 4558). 

11 SEC. 5. ENHANCEMENT OF SUPPLY CHAIN PRODUCTION. 

12 In exercising authority under title III of the Defense 

13 Production Act of 1950 (50 U.S.C. 4531 et seq.) with re14 spect to materials described in section 2, the President 

15 shall seek to ensure that support is provided to companies 

16 that comprise the supply chains for reagents, components, 

17 raw materials, and other materials and items necessary 

18 to produce or use the materials described in section 2 to 

19 the extent necessary for the national defense during the 

20 COVID–19 emergency period. 

21 SEC. 6. ENHANCED REPORTING DURING COVID–19 EMER22 GENCY. 

23 (a) REPORT ON EXERCISING AUTHORITIES UNDER

24 THE DEFENSE PRODUCTION ACT OF 1950.— 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
8 

HR 3125 RFS

1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after 

2 the date of the enactment of this Act, the President, 

3 in consultation with the Administrator of the Fed4 eral Emergency Management Agency, the Secretary 

5 of Defense, and the Secretary of Health and Human 

6 Services, shall submit to the appropriate congres7 sional committees a report on the exercise of au8 thorities under titles I, III, and VII of the Defense 

9 Production Act of 1950 (50 U.S.C. 4501 et seq.) 

10 prior to the date of such report for the purposes of 

11 the COVID–19 response. 

12 (2) CONTENTS.—The report required under 

13 subsection (a) and the update required under para14 graph (3) shall include the following: 

15 (A) IN GENERAL.—With respect to each 

16 exercise of such authority— 

17 (i) an explanation of the purpose of 

18 the applicable contract, purchase order, or 

19 other exercise of authority (including an 

20 allocation of materials, services, and facili21 ties under section 101(a)(2) of the Defense 

22 Production Act of 1950 (50 U.S.C. 

23 4511(a)(2)); 

24 (ii) the cost of such exercise of au25 thority; and 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
9 

HR 3125 RFS

1 (iii) if applicable— 

2 (I) the amount of goods that 

3 were purchased or allocated; 

4 (II) an identification of the entity 

5 awarded a contract or purchase order 

6 or that was the subject of the exercise 

7 of authority; and 

8 (III) an identification of any en9 tity that had shipments delayed by the 

10 exercise of any authority under the 

11 Defense Production Act of 1950 (50 

12 U.S.C. 4501 et seq.). 

13 (B) CONSULTATIONS.—A description of 

14 any consultations conducted with relevant 

15 stakeholders on the needs addressed by the ex16 ercise of the authorities described in paragraph 

17 (1). 

18 (3) UPDATE.—The President shall provide an 

19 additional briefing to the appropriate congressional 

20 committees on the matters described under para21 graph (2) no later than four months after the sub22 mission of the report. 

23 (b) EXERCISE OF LOAN AUTHORITIES.— 

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—Any loan made pursuant to 

25 section 302 or 303 of the Defense Production Act of 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
10 

HR 3125 RFS

1 1950, carried out by the United States International 

2 Development Finance Corporation pursuant to the 

3 authorities delegated by Executive Order No. 13922, 

4 shall be subject to the notification requirements con5 tained in section 1446 of the BUILD Act of 2018 

6 (22 U.S.C. 9656). 

7 (2) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT8 TEES.—For purposes of the notifications required by 

9 paragraph (1) the term ‘‘appropriate congressional 

10 committees’’, as used section 1446 of the BUILD 

11 Act of 2018, shall be deemed to include the Com12 mittee on Financial Services of the House of Rep13 resentatives and the Committee on Banking, Hous14 ing and Urban Development of the Senate. 

15 (c) SUNSET.—The requirements of this section shall 

16 terminate on the later of— 

17 (1) December 31, 2021; or 

18 (2) the end of the COVID–19 emergency pe19 riod. 

20 SEC. 7. REPORT ON ACTIVITIES INVOLVING SMALL BUSI21 NESS. 

22 The report required by section 304(f)(3) of the De23 fense Production Act of 1950 (50 U.S.C. 4534(f)(3)) for 

24 fiscal years 2022 and 2023 shall include the percentage 

25 of contracts awarded using funds to carry out the Defense 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
11 

HR 3125 RFS

1 Production Act of 1950 for each of the fiscal years 2022 

2 and 2023, respectively, to small business concerns (as de3 fined under section 702 of such Act). 

4 SEC. 8. DEFINITIONS. 

5 In this Act: 

6 (1) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT7 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com8 mittees’’ means the Committees on Appropriations, 

9 Armed Services, Energy and Commerce, Financial 

10 Services, and Homeland Security of the House of 

11 Representatives and the Committees on Appropria12 tions, Armed Services, Banking, Housing, and 

13 Urban Affairs, Health, Education, Labor, and Pen14 sions, Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, 

15 and Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate. 

16 (2) COVID–19 EMERGENCY PERIOD.—The 

17 term ‘‘COVID–19 emergency period’’ means the pe18 riod beginning on the date of enactment of this Act 

19 and ending on the earlier of— 

20 (A) the end of the incident period for the 

21 emergency declared on March 13, 2020, by the 

22 President under section 501 of the Robert T. 

23 Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assist24 ance Act (42 U.S.C. 4121 et seq.) relating to 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
12 

HR 3125 RFS

1 the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID–19) 

2 pandemic; or 

3 (B) September 30, 2025. 

4 (3) RELEVANT STAKEHOLDER.—The term ‘‘rel5 evant stakeholder’’ means— 

6 (A) representative private sector entities; 

7 (B) representatives of the nonprofit sector; 

8 (C) representatives of primary and sec9 ondary school systems; and 

10 (D) representatives of organizations rep11 resenting workers, including health workers, 

12 manufacturers, teachers, other public sector 

13 employees, and service sector workers. 

14 (4) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means each of 

15 the several States, the District of Columbia, the 

16 Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and any territory or 

17 possession of the United States. 

Passed the House of Representatives May 18, 2021. 

Attest: CHERYL L. JOHNSON, 

Clerk. 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS