I 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3125 

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. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 11, 2021 

Mr. VARGAS (for himself and Mr. HILL) introduced the following bill; which 

was referred to the Committee on Financial Services 

A BILL 

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, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

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

5 Medical Supplies Enhancement Act of 2021’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. DETERMINATION ON EMERGENCY SUPPLIES AND 

2 OTHER PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCIES. 

3 (a) COVID–19 PANDEMIC RESPONSE.—For the pur4 poses of section 101 of the Defense Production Act of 

5 1950 (50 U.S.C. 4511), the following materials may be 

6 deemed by the President, during the COVID–19 emer7 gency period, to be scarce and critical materials essential 

8 to the national defense and otherwise meet the require9 ments of section 101(b) of such Act, and funds available 

10 to implement such Act may be used for the purchase, pro11 duction (including the construction, repair, and retro12 fitting of government-owned facilities as necessary), or 

13 distribution of such materials: 

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

15 section 809.3(a) of title 21, Code of Federal Regula16 tions) for the detection of SARS–CoV–2 or the diag17 nosis of the virus that causes COVID–19, and the 

18 reagents and other materials necessary for pro19 ducing, conducting, or administering such products, 

20 and the machinery, equipment, laboratory capacity, 

21 or other technology necessary to produce such prod22 ucts. 

23 (2) Face masks and personal protective equip24 ment, including non-surgical isolation gowns, face 

25 shields, nitrile gloves, N–95 filtering facepiece res26 pirators, and any other masks or equipment (includVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:10 May 14, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3125.IH H3125

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1 ing durable medical equipment) determined by the 

2 Secretary of Health and Human Services to be need3 ed to respond to the COVID–19 pandemic, and the 

4 materials, machinery, additional manufacturing lines 

5 or facilities, or other technology necessary to 

6 produce such equipment. 

7 (3) Drugs and devices (as those terms are de8 fined in the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act 

9 (21 U.S.C. 301 et seq.)) and biological products (as 

10 that term is defined by section 351 of the Public 

11 Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 262)) that are ap12 proved, cleared, licensed, or authorized under either 

13 of such Acts for use in treating or preventing 

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

15 and any materials, manufacturing machinery, addi16 tional manufacturing or fill-finish lines or facilities, 

17 technology, or equipment (including durable medical 

18 equipment) necessary to produce or use such drugs, 

19 biological products, or devices (including syringes, 

20 vials, or other supplies or equipment related to deliv21 ery, distribution, or administration). 

22 (4) Any other medical equipment or supplies 

23 determined by the Secretary of Health and Human 

24 Services or the Secretary of Homeland Security to 

25 be scarce and critical materials essential to the naVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:10 May 14, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3125.IH H3125

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1 tional defense for purposes of section 101 of the De2 fense Production Act of 1950 (50 U.S.C. 4511). 

3 (b) FUTURE PREPAREDNESS FOR HEALTH EMER4 GENCIES.—Section 702(14) of the Defense Production 

5 Act of 1950 is amended by striking ‘‘and critical infra6 structure protection and restoration’’ and inserting ‘‘, crit7 ical infrastructure protection and restoration, and public 

8 health emergency preparedness and response activities’’. 

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

10 TO CONTRACTS BY STATE, LOCAL, OR TRIBAL 

11 GOVERNMENTS. 

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

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

14 4511 et seq.) during the COVID–19 emergency period, the 

15 President (and any officer or employee of the United 

16 States to which authorities under such title I have been 

17 delegated)— 

18 (1) may exercise the prioritization or allocation 

19 authority provided in such title I to exclude any ma20 terials described in section 2 ordered by a State, 

21 local, or Tribal government that are scheduled to be 

22 delivered within 15 days of the time at which— 

23 (A) the purchase order or contract by the 

24 Federal Government for such materials is 

25 made; or 


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1 (B) the materials are otherwise allocated 

2 by the Federal Government under the authori3 ties contained in such Act; and 

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

5 prioritization or allocation authority provided in such 

6 title I— 

7 (A) to the extent practicable notify any 

8 State, local, or Tribal government if the Presi9 dent determines that the exercise of such au10 thorities would delay the receipt of such mate11 rials ordered by such government; and 

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

13 and as authorized by law, to ensure that such 

14 materials ordered by such government are deliv15 ered in the shortest possible period, consistent 

16 with the purposes of the Defense Production 

17 Act of 1950. 

18 (b) UPDATE TO FEDERAL REGULATIONS.— 

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

20 date of enactment of this Act, the Defense Property 

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

22 700) shall be revised to reflect the requirements of 

23 subsection (a). 

24 (2) FAR.—Not later than 30 days after the re25 visions required by paragraph (1) are made, the 


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1 Federal Acquisition Regulation shall be revised to 

2 reflect the requirements of subsection (a), consistent 

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

4 SEC. 4. ENGAGEMENT WITH THE PRIVATE SECTOR. 

5 (a) OUTREACH REPRESENTATIVE.—Consistent with 

6 the authorities in title VII of the Defense Production Act 

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

8 the Federal Emergency Management Agency, in consulta9 tion with the Secretary of Health and Human Services, 

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

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

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

13 period. Such individual shall— 

14 (1) be appointed from among individuals with 

15 substantial experience in the production or distribu16 tion of medical supplies or equipment; and 

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

18 contact during the COVID–19 emergency for out19 reach to manufacturing companies and their sup20 pliers who may be interested in producing medical 

21 supplies or equipment, including the materials de22 scribed under section 2. 

23 (b) ENCOURAGING PARTNERSHIPS.—During the 

24 COVID–19 emergency period, the Outreach Representa25 tive shall seek to develop partnerships between companies, 


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1 in coordination with any overall coordinator appointed by 

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

3 emergency, including through the exercise of the authori4 ties delegated by the President under section 708 of the 

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

6 SEC. 5. ENHANCEMENT OF SUPPLY CHAIN PRODUCTION. 

7 In exercising authority under title III of the Defense 

8 Production Act of 1950 (50 U.S.C. 4531 et seq.) with re9 spect to materials described in section 2, the President 

10 shall seek to ensure that support is provided to companies 

11 that comprise the supply chains for reagents, components, 

12 raw materials, and other materials and items necessary 

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

14 the extent necessary for the national defense during the 

15 COVID–19 emergency period. 

16 SEC. 6. ENHANCED REPORTING DURING COVID–19 EMER17 GENCY. 

18 (a) REPORT ON EXERCISING AUTHORITIES UNDER

19 THE DEFENSE PRODUCTION ACT OF 1950.— 

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

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

22 in consultation with the Administrator of the Fed23 eral Emergency Management Agency, the Secretary 

24 of Defense, and the Secretary of Health and Human 

25 Services, shall submit to the appropriate congresVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:10 May 14, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3125.IH H3125

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1 sional committees a report on the exercise of au2 thorities under titles I, III, and VII of the Defense 

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

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

5 the COVID–19 response. 

6 (2) CONTENTS.—The report required under 

7 subsection (a) and the update required under para8 graph (3) shall include the following: 

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

10 exercise of such authority— 

11 (i) an explanation of the purpose of 

12 the applicable contract, purchase order, or 

13 other exercise of authority (including an 

14 allocation of materials, services, and facili15 ties under section 101(a)(2) of the Defense 

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

17 4511(a)(2)); 

18 (ii) the cost of such exercise of au19 thority; and 

20 (iii) if applicable— 

21 (I) the amount of goods that 

22 were purchased or allocated; 

23 (II) an identification of the entity 

24 awarded a contract or purchase order 


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1 or that was the subject of the exercise 

2 of authority; and 

3 (III) an identification of any en4 tity that had shipments delayed by the 

5 exercise of any authority under the 

6 Defense Production Act of 1950 (50 

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

8 (B) CONSULTATIONS.—A description of 

9 any consultations conducted with relevant 

10 stakeholders on the needs addressed by the ex11 ercise of the authorities described in paragraph 

12 (1). 

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

14 additional briefing to the appropriate congressional 

15 committees on the matters described under para16 graph (2) no later than four months after the sub17 mission of the report. 

18 (b) EXERCISE OF LOAN AUTHORITIES.— 

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

20 section 302 or 303 of the Defense Production Act of 

21 1950, carried out by the United States International 

22 Development Finance Corporation pursuant to the 

23 authorities delegated by Executive Order No. 13922, 

24 shall be subject to the notification requirements conVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:10 May 14, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3125.IH H3125

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1 tained in section 1446 of the BUILD Act of 2018 

2 (22 U.S.C. 9656). 

3 (2) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT4 TEES.—For purposes of the notifications required by 

5 paragraph (1) the term ‘‘appropriate congressional 

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

7 Act of 2018, shall be deemed to include the Com8 mittee on Financial Services of the House of Rep9 resentatives and the Committee on Banking, Hous10 ing and Urban Development of the Senate. 

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

12 terminate on the later of— 

13 (1) December 31, 2021; or 

14 (2) the end of the COVID–19 emergency pe15 riod. 

16 SEC. 7. REPORT ON ACTIVITIES INVOLVING SMALL BUSI17 NESS. 

18 The report required by section 304(f)(3) of the De19 fense Production Act of 1950 (50 U.S.C. 4534(f)(3)) for 

20 fiscal years 2022 and 2023 shall include the percentage 

21 of contracts awarded using funds to carry out the Defense 

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

23 and 2023, respectively, to small business concerns (as de24 fined under section 702 of such Act). 


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1 SEC. 8. DEFINITIONS. 

2 In this Act: 

3 (1) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT4 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com5 mittees’’ means the Committees on Appropriations, 

6 Armed Services, Energy and Commerce, Financial 

7 Services, and Homeland Security of the House of 

8 Representatives and the Committees on Appropria9 tions, Armed Services, Banking, Housing, and 

10 Urban Affairs, Health, Education, Labor, and Pen11 sions, Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, 

12 and Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate. 

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

14 term ‘‘COVID–19 emergency period’’ means the pe15 riod beginning on the date of enactment of this Act 

16 and ending on the earlier of— 

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

18 emergency declared on March 13, 2020, by the 

19 President under section 501 of the Robert T. 

20 Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assist21 ance Act (42 U.S.C. 4121 et seq.) relating to 

22 the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID–19) 

23 pandemic; or 

24 (B) September 30, 2025. 

25 (3) RELEVANT STAKEHOLDER.—The term ‘‘rel26 evant stakeholder’’ means— 


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1 (A) representative private sector entities; 

2 (B) representatives of the nonprofit sector; 

3 (C) representatives of primary and sec4 ondary school systems; and 

5 (D) representatives of organizations rep6 resenting workers, including health workers, 

7 manufacturers, teachers, other public sector 

8 employees, and service sector workers. 

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

10 the several States, the District of Columbia, the 

11 Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and any territory or 

12 possession of the United States. 

Æ 


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