[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 92 (Tuesday, May 12, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 28031-28032]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-10221]
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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
Federal Emergency Management Agency
[Docket ID FEMA-2020-0016]
Meeting To Develop Pandemic Response; Voluntary Agreement
AGENCY: Federal Emergency Management Agency, DHS.
ACTION: Announcement of meeting; request for comments.
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SUMMARY: The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) will convene a
meeting remotely via teleconference and web conference on May 21, 2020,
to develop a voluntary agreement under Section 708 of the Defense
Production Act to help provide for the national defense by maximizing
the effectiveness of the distribution of critical medical resources
nationwide to respond to pandemics in general, and COVID-19
specifically. The meeting will be open to the public. If necessary, a
second meeting will take place on May 27, 2020.
DATES: The meeting will take place on Thursday, May 21, 2020, from 2:00
to 3:30 p.m. Eastern Time (ET). Written comments for consideration at
the meeting must be submitted and received by 12 p.m. ET on Wednesday,
May 20, 2020. To register to make remarks during the public comment
period, contact the individual listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
CONTACT section below by 12 p.m. ET on May 20, 2020.
If necessary, a second meeting will take place on Wednesday, May
27, 2020, from 2:00 to 3:30 p.m. ET.
ADDRESSES: The meeting(s) will be held via teleconference and web
conference. It is recommended that attendees register with FEMA by
12:00 p.m. on May 20, 2020, by providing their name, telephone number,
email address, title, and organization to the person listed in the FOR
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section below.
Reasonable accommodations are available for people with
disabilities and others with access and functional needs. To request a
reasonable accommodation, contact the person listed in the FOR FURTHER
INFORMATION CONTACT section below as soon as possible.
To facilitate public participation, members of the public are
invited to provide written comments on the issues to be considered at
the meeting. The ``Meeting Objectives'' section below outlines these
issues. Written comments for consideration at the meeting on May 21
must be submitted and received by 12 p.m. ET on May 20, 2020,
identified by Docket ID FEMA-2020-0016, and submitted by one of the
following methods:
Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov.
Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
Email: Defense Production Act Division, FEMA, FEMA-DPA@fema.dhs.gov.
Instructions: All submissions must include the docket ID ``FEMA-
2020-0016.'' Comments received, including any personal information
provided, may be posted without alteration at http://www.regulations.gov.
Docket: For access to the docket to read comments received by the
FEMA, go to http://www.regulations.gov, and search for Docket ID FEMA-
2020-0016.
A public comment period will be held at the FEMA meeting on May 21,
2020, from 2:00 to 3:30 p.m. ET. All speakers must limit their comments
to 3 minutes. Comments should be addressed to FEMA. Any comments not
related to the Meeting Objectives topics will not be considered at the
meeting, which will be chaired by FEMA. To register to make remarks
during the public comment period, contact the individual listed in the
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section below by 12:00 p.m. on May 20,
2020. If necessary, FEMA will limit the number of comments taken during
the public meeting consistent with the time available, but will
consider relevant and properly submitted written submissions from all
interested parties.
FEMA encourages interested parties to make written submissions in
advance of the meeting on May 21 and as a follow-up to one or both
meetings consistent with the instructions for submitting comments
stated above. Follow-up comments must be received within three (3)
business days of the last meeting held in order to be considered.
FEMA will create a transcript for each meeting and will upload the
transcript(s) to the docket referenced above for public viewing. No
later than 9:00 a.m. ET on Friday, May 22, FEMA will upload a notice to
the docket stating whether the second meeting will be held and
specifying when the comment period will be closed, consistent with the
paragraph immediately above.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Harold Lucie, Joint DPA Office,
Federal Emergency Management Agency, 500 C Street SW, Washington, DC
20472-3184, telephone (202) 212-2900, and email FEMA-DPA@fema.dhs.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Notice of the meeting(s) is provided as
required
[[Page 28032]]
by Sec. 708(e)(3)(B) of the Defense Production Act (DPA), 50 U.S.C.
4558(e)(3)(B), and consistent with 44 CFR part 332.
The DPA authorizes the making of ``voluntary agreements and plans
of action'' with, among others, representatives of industry and
business to address conditions that may pose a direct threat to the
national defense or its preparedness programs (50 U.S.C. 4558(c)(1)).
The President's authority to facilitate voluntary agreements has been
delegated to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) generally in
section 401 of Executive Order 13603,\1\ ``National Defense Resources
Preparedness,'' and specifically for response to the spread of COVID-19
within the United States in section 3 of Executive Order 13911,\2\
``Delegating Additional Authority Under the Defense Production Act With
Respect to Health and Medical Resources To Respond to the Spread of
COVID-19.'' The Secretary of Homeland Security has delegated this
authority to the FEMA Administrator in DHS Delegation 09052 Rev. 00.1,
``Delegation of Defense Production Act Authority to the Administrator
of the Federal Emergency Management Agency'' (Apr. 1, 2020).
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\1\ 77 FR 16651 (Mar. 22, 2012).
\2\ 85 FR 18403 (Apr. 1, 2020).
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The FEMA Administrator has found that, in light of the
unprecedented nature of COVID-19 and subsequent response requirements,
conditions exist which pose a direct threat to the national defense and
its preparedness programs. A future pandemic, or resurgence of COVID-
19, will similarly threaten the national defense and its preparedness
programs. Therefore, FEMA has sought, and received, approval from the
Attorney General, after consultation by the Attorney General with the
Federal Trade Commission, to begin the consultations with
representatives of manufacturers, suppliers and distributors of
personal protective equipment, pharmaceuticals, and other critical
health and medical resources for the purpose of making a voluntary
agreement under the DPA. The purpose of such an agreement is to
maximize the effectiveness of the distribution of critical health and
medical resources nationwide to respond to pandemics in general, and
COVID-19 specifically, by establishing unity of effort between
agreement participants and the Federal Government for integrated
coordination, planning, information sharing, and distribution of
critical medical resources. With respect to agreement participants
specifically, the agreement would establish the terms, conditions, and
procedures under which participants agree voluntarily to contribute and
facilitate health and medical resource production and distribution
capacity as requested by FEMA and other Federal Government entities.
FEMA proposes to make a 5-year voluntary agreement effective as
soon as possible to address the Nation's response to COVID-19. FEMA
proposes a Committee for the Distribution of Medical Resources
Necessary to Respond to a Pandemic (the ``Committee'') to provide FEMA
and the participants a forum to maximize the effectiveness of the
distribution of health and medical resources nationwide to respond to a
pandemic through integrated coordination, planning, information
sharing, and distribution of health and medical resources.
The meeting(s) will be chaired by the FEMA Administrator or his
delegate, and attended by the Attorney General or his delegate, and the
Chairman of the Federal Trade Commission or his delegate. In developing
this agreement, FEMA will adhere to all procedural requirements of 50
U.S.C. 4558 and 44 CFR part 332 for establishment of this voluntary
agreement.
Meeting Objectives: The purpose of the meeting(s) is two-fold:
(1) First, FEMA aims to identify agreement participants. FEMA
proposes to invite representatives of major manufacturers, suppliers,
and distributers of health and medical resources critical to respond to
a pandemic. FEMA requests stakeholder input on identification of
appropriate manufacturers, suppliers, distributors, and any other
appropriate stakeholders for inclusion in the voluntary agreement.
(2) Second, FEMA aims to gather technical advice from meeting
participants on the scope and substance of the draft agreement. FEMA
proposes that voluntary agreement will include: Provision of technical
advice; collective sharing of information; identification and
validation of places and resources of the greatest need for medical
resources; projection of future distribution demands; collective
identification and resolution of allocation of scarce resources among
all public and private domestic needs; sharing of vendor, manufacturer
and distribution information; and inclusion of any other necessary
collective actions to maximize the timely national distribution of
health and medical resources necessary to respond to a pandemic. FEMA
requests stakeholder evaluation of the objectives outlined above, and
requests that stakeholders provide additional recommendations for
objectives of the voluntary agreement.
Pete Gaynor,
Administrator, Federal Emergency Management Agency.
[FR Doc. 2020-10221 Filed 5-8-20; 11:15 am]
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