[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 8 (Wednesday, January 13, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 2688-2689]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-00505]
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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
Federal Emergency Management Agency
[Docket ID FEMA-2020-0016]
Meeting To Implement Pandemic Response Voluntary Agreement Under
Section 708 of the Defense Production Act
AGENCY: Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland
Security.
ACTION: Announcement of meeting; request for comments.
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SUMMARY: The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) will hold a
meeting remotely via web conference to implement the Voluntary
Agreement for the Manufacture and Distribution of Critical Healthcare
Resources Necessary to Respond to a Pandemic. A portion of the meeting
will be open to the public.
DATES: The meeting will take place on Friday, January 15, 2021, from 2
to 4 p.m. Eastern Time (ET). The first portion of the meeting, from
approximately 2 to 3 p.m. ET, will be open to the public.
Written comments for consideration at the meeting must be submitted
and received by 12 p.m. ET on Thursday, January 14, 2021. Follow-up
comments must be received by 5 p.m. ET on Friday, January 22, 2021, to
be considered.
ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held via web conference. Members of the
public may view the public portion of the meeting online at https://pandemicdpa708.com.
Reasonable accommodations are available for people with
disabilities. To request a reasonable accommodation, contact the person
listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section below as soon as
possible. Last minute requests will be accepted but may not be possible
to fulfill.
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 listed below outline these issues.
Written comments must be identified by Docket ID FEMA-2020-0016, and
submitted by one of the following methods:
Federal eRulemaking Portal: https://www.regulations.gov.
Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
Email: FEMA's Office of Business, Industry, Infrastructure
Integration, OB3I@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 https://www.regulations.gov.
Docket: For access to the docket and to read comments received by
FEMA, go to https://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID FEMA-
2020-0016.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Robert Glenn, Office of Business,
Industry, Infrastructure Integration, via email at OB3I@fema.dhs.gov or
via phone at (202) 212-1666.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Notice of this meeting is provided as
required by section 708(h)(8) of the Defense Production Act (DPA), 50
U.S.C. 4558(h)(8), 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 help provide for the national defense.\1\ The President's
authority to facilitate voluntary agreements was delegated to the
Secretary of Homeland Security with respect to responding to the spread
of COVID-19 within the United States in Executive Order 13911.\2\ The
Secretary of Homeland Security has further delegated this authority to
the FEMA Administrator.\3\
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\1\ 50 U.S.C. 4558(c)(1).
\2\ 85 FR 18403 (Apr. 1, 2020).
\3\ DHS Delegation 09052, Rev. 00.1 (Apr. 1, 2020); DHS
Delegation Number 09052 Rev. 00 (Jan. 3, 2017).
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On August 17, 2020, after the appropriate consultations with the
Attorney General and the Chairman of the Federal Trade Commission, FEMA
completed and published in the Federal Register a ``Voluntary Agreement
for the Manufacture and Distribution of Critical Healthcare Resources
Necessary to Respond to a Pandemic'' (Voluntary Agreement).\4\ Unless
terminated prior to that date, the Voluntary Agreement is effective
until August 17, 2025, and may be extended subject to additional
approval by the Attorney General after consultation with the Chairman
of the Federal Trade Commission. The Agreement may be used to prepare
for or respond to any pandemic, including COVID-19, during that time.
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\4\ 85 FR 50035 (Aug. 17, 2020). The Attorney General, in
consultation with the Chairman of the Federal Trade Commission, made
the required finding that the purpose of the voluntary agreement may
not reasonably be achieved through an agreement having less
anticompetitive effects or without any voluntary agreement and
published the finding in the Federal Register on the same day. 85 FR
50049 (Aug. 17, 2020).
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On December 7, 2020, the first plan of action under the Voluntary
Agreement--the Plan of Action to Establish a National Strategy for the
Manufacture, Allocation, and Distribution of Personal Protective
Equipment (PPE) to Respond to COVID-19 (Plan of Action)--was
finalized.\5\ The Plan of Action established several sub-committees
under the Voluntary Agreement, focusing on different aspects of the
Plan of Action.
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\5\ See 85 FR 78869 (Dec. 7, 2020). See also 85 FR 79020 (Dec.
8, 2020).
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The meeting 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
implementing the Voluntary Agreement, FEMA adheres to all procedural
requirements of 50 U.S.C. 4558 and 44 CFR part 332.
[[Page 2689]]
Meeting Objectives: The objective of the meeting is to update the
general public, and private industry partners, on the status of the
Voluntary Agreement, PPE Plan of Action, and potential future Plans of
Action.
Meeting Closed to the Public: By default, the DPA requires meetings
held to implement a voluntary agreement or plan of action be open to
the public.\6\ However, attendance may be limited if the Sponsor \7\ of
the voluntary agreement finds that the matter to be discussed at a
meeting falls within the purview of matters described in 5 U.S.C.
552b(c). The Sponsor of the Voluntary Agreement, the FEMA
Administrator, found that a portion of this meeting to implement the
Voluntary Agreement involves matters which fall within the purview of
matters described in 5 U.S.C. 552b(c) and that portion of the meeting
will therefore be closed to the public.
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\6\ See 50 U.S.C. 4558(h)(7).
\7\ ``[T]he individual designated by the President in subsection
(c)(2) [of section 708 of the DPA] to administer the voluntary
agreement, or plan of action.'' 50 U.S.C. 4558(h)(7).
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Specifically, the meeting to implement the Voluntary Agreement may
require participants to disclose trade secrets or commercial or
financial information that is privileged or confidential. Disclosure of
such information allows for meetings to be closed pursuant to 5 U.S.C.
552b(c)(4). In addition, the success of the Voluntary Agreement depends
wholly on the willing and enthusiastic participation of private sector
participants. Failure to close this meeting could have a strong
chilling effect on participation by the private sector and cause a
substantial risk that sensitive information will be prematurely
released to the public, resulting in participants withdrawing their
support from the Voluntary Agreement and thus significantly frustrating
the implementation of the Voluntary Agreement. Frustration of an
agency's objective due to premature disclosure of information allows
for the closure of a meeting to pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552b(c)(9)(B).
Pete Gaynor,
Administrator, Federal Emergency Management Agency.
[FR Doc. 2021-00505 Filed 1-12-21; 8:45 am]
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