I 
116TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 8562 
To require the Director of the Defense Logistics Agency to establish a 
system for States and localities to access covered items during a covered 
emergency, to ensure that the Director of the Defense Logistics Agency 
is the head of the COVID–19 Joint Acquisition Task Force, and for 
other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
OCTOBER 9, 2020 
Mr. LARSON of Connecticut (for himself and Mr. COURTNEY) introduced the 
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Armed Services, 
and in addition to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, 
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 require the Director of the Defense Logistics Agency 
to establish a system for States and localities to access 
covered items during a covered emergency, to ensure 
that the Director of the Defense Logistics Agency is 
the head of the COVID–19 Joint Acquisition Task 
Force, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
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SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Pandemic Essential 
Supplies Act’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
(1) The global shortage of medical and sanita-
tion supplies due to the COVID–19 pandemic has 
paralyzed health care systems and strained emer-
gency response capabilities of governments around 
the world. 
(2) The pandemic demonstrated the inter-
dependent nature and the limitations of global sup-
ply chains as both our nation and the world com-
petes for a finite number of suppliers for critical 
medical and sanitation resources. 
(3) Providing a comprehensive understanding of 
how to procure, manage, deliver, and sustain at scale 
was necessary during this crisis, and will be critical 
as the U.S. replenishes current supplies and plans 
for future crises. 
(4) The Federal Emergency Management Agen-
cy and the Department of Health and Human Serv-
ices were challenged to rapidly identify, procure and 
deploy large quantities of goods and services while 
simultaneously responding and planning for the re-
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covery of the United States from this global pan-
demic. 
(5) The traditional interagency emergency re-
sponse structure, built to respond to natural disas-
ters typically defined by geographic locales, does not 
have the capacity to scale quickly to address a crisis 
of this magnitude. 
(6) The Department of Defense leveraged ac-
quisition and supply chain expertise are uniquely 
suited to rapidly scale and establish acquisition 
strategies, for both procurement of supplies, expan-
sion of industrial capabilities and distribution of 
such supplies as the COVID–19 response require-
ments evolved. 
(7) As the combat logistics support agency for 
the Nation, the Defense Logistics Agency (‘‘DLA’’) 
manages the global supply chain—from raw mate-
rials to end user to disposition—for the Army, Ma-
rine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, Coast 
Guard, 11 combatant commands, other Federal 
agencies, and partner and allied nations. 
(8) DLA has supported the COVID–19 re-
sponse of the Department of Defense by increasing 
the production and acquisition of critical items 
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through existing large-scale contracts across multiple 
supply chains. 
(9) As a logistics integrator and acquisition and 
service provider, DLA has the unique capability to 
manage the supply chain that few other organiza-
tions, public or private, can match to assist States, 
local governments, hospitals, and health care pro-
viders around the country with supplies so they are 
not needlessly competing against one another. 
(10) Additionally, the COVID–19 Joint Acqui-
sition Task Force (‘‘JATF’’), established by the Un-
dersecretary 
of 
Defense 
for 
Acquisition 
and 
Sustainment, plays a critical role in the national re-
sponse to the COVID–19 pandemic. 
(11) The JATF’s understanding of reliance on 
foreign suppliers, often many tiers down in the sup-
ply chain, and the impact of that reliance on pro-
ducing at scale has allowed the Secretary of Health 
and Human Services to better plan for replenish-
ment of the Strategic National Stockpile. 
(12) DLA should provide direct support for 
States during the COVID–19 pandemic and future 
emergencies. 
(13) DLA can identify private sector capacity 
and assess additional needs for rapid mass produc-
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tion a COVID–19 vaccine in advance of approval by 
the Federal Drug Administration of such vaccine. 
(14) The Secretary of Defense should be pre-
pared to reconvene the JATF to support future 
emergencies such as COVID–19. 
SEC. 3. DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY SYSTEM TO ACCESS 
COVERED ITEMS DURING A COVERED EMER-
GENCY. 
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 90 days after 
the date of the enactment of this Act, the Director of the 
Defense Logistics Agency shall— 
(1) establish and maintain an online system, or 
expand access to an existing system, through which 
States and local governments affected by a covered 
emergency may submit requests for covered items; 
and 
(2) establish procedures for fulfilling such re-
quests. 
(b) FUNDING.—The Secretary of Homeland Security, 
acting through the Director of the Federal Emergency 
Management Agency, shall transfer such amounts as de-
termined by the Secretary of Defense, acting through the 
Director of the Defense Logistics Agency, to be derived 
from the unobligated balances of amounts appropriated or 
otherwise made available to the Disaster Relief Fund, to 
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reimburse costs that the Secretary of Defense certifies to 
the Secretary of Homeland Security were incurred to carry 
out this section. 
(c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
(1) COVERED EMERGENCY.—The term ‘‘covered 
emergency’’ means— 
(A) a major disaster declared by the Presi-
dent under section 401 of the Robert T. Staf-
ford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance 
Act; or 
(B) an emergency or disaster declared by 
a Governor of a State or the head of a unit of 
local government. 
(2) COVERED ITEM.—The term ‘‘covered item’’ 
means a good or service determined by the Director 
of the Defense Logistics Agency to be essential to 
respond to a covered emergency. 
(3) UNIT OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT.—The term 
‘‘unit of local government’’ means a county, munici-
pality, town, township, village, parish, borough, or 
other unit of general government. 
SEC. 4. COVID–19 JOINT ACQUISITION TASK FORCE. 
The Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and 
Sustainment shall designate the Director of the Defense 
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