Title: Medical Supply Chain Emergency Act of 2020
Policy area: Health

Summary:
Medical Supply Chain Emergency Act of 2020
This bill directs the President to use existing authorities under the Defense Production Act of 1950 with respect to the production of ventilators, N-95 respirator masks, and specified personal protective equipment to address COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019). (That act confers upon the President a broad set of authorities to influence domestic industry in order to provide essential materials and goods needed for the national defense.)
The President must (1) make a determination that such items are essential for the national defense, (2) identify private-sector capacity to produce these items, and (3) exercise authorities under the act to require emergency production of them at a reasonable price. In addition, the President shall coordinate the allocation of these items based on requests from governors and the needs of the states as determined by the number of COVID-19 cases and the proportion of the population at higher risk of the disease in a given state.
The bill makes specified funds available for these efforts. Equipment produced under these authorities but unused at the termination of the COVID-19 emergency declared on March 13, 2020, shall be deposited into the Strategic National Stockpile.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3568 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 3568

     To require the President to use authorities under the Defense 
   Production Act of 1950 to require emergency production of medical 
              equipment to address the COVID-19 outbreak.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 23, 2020

  Mr. Murphy (for himself, Mr. Schatz, Mr. Bennet, Mr. Heinrich, Mrs. 
Gillibrand, Mr. Manchin, Mr. Blumenthal, and Mr. Van Hollen) introduced 
the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee 
                 on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
     To require the President to use authorities under the Defense 
   Production Act of 1950 to require emergency production of medical 
              equipment to address the COVID-19 outbreak.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Medical Supply Chain Emergency Act 
of 2020''.

SEC. 2. EMERGENCY PRODUCTION OF MEDICAL EQUIPMENT TO ADDRESS COVID-19 
              OUTBREAK.

    (a) In General.--Immediately upon the enactment of this Act, the 
President shall--
            (1) determine under section 101(b) of the Defense 
        Production Act of 1950 (50 U.S.C. 4511(b)) that--
                    (A) medical equipment described in paragraph (3)(A) 
                is scarce and a critical material essential to the 
                national defense; and
                    (B) the requirements of the national defense for 
                such equipment cannot be met without exercising the 
                authorities provided by the Defense Production Act of 
                1950 (50 U.S.C. 4501 et seq.);
            (2) identify private sector capacity to produce such 
        equipment;
            (3) exercise the authorities provided by the Defense 
        Production Act of 1950 to the extent necessary--
                    (A) to require emergency production of--
                            (i) not less than--
                                    (I) 500,000,000 N95 respirators;
                                    (II) 200,000 medical ventilators;
                                    (III) 20,000,000 face shields;
                                    (IV) 500,000,000 pairs of medical 
                                exam gloves; and
                                    (V) 20,000,000 surgical gowns; and
                            (ii) such other medical equipment as the 
                        President determines to be necessary to address 
                        the coronavirus disease 2019 (commonly known as 
                        ``COVID-19'') outbreak; and
                    (B) to establish a fair and reasonable price for 
                the sale of medical equipment produced pursuant to 
                subparagraph (A).
    (b) Coordination.--The President shall coordinate and direct the 
allocation of medical equipment produced under subsection (a) based on 
requests from the Governors of the States and the needs of the States, 
as determined based on--
            (1) the number of cases of COVID-19 in a State; and
            (2) the proportion of the population in a State with a 
        higher risk of developing a serious illness from COVID-19.
    (c) Funding.--Amounts available in the Defense Production Act Fund 
under section 304 of the Defense Production Act of 1950 (50 U.S.C. 
4534) shall be available to carry out this section.
    (d) Termination.--
            (1) In general.--This section, and authorities carried out 
        pursuant to this section, shall terminate on the date on which 
        the national emergency declared under the National Emergencies 
        Act (50 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.) on March 13, 2020, relating to the 
        COVID-19 outbreak, terminates.
            (2) Disposition of unused medical equipment.--Any medical 
        equipment produced pursuant to subsection (a) using amounts 
        from the Defense Production Act Fund and unused as of the date 
        described in paragraph (1) shall be deposited in the Strategic 
        National Stockpile.
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