Notice2021-21192
Meetings To Implement Pandemic Response Voluntary Agreement Under Section 708 of the Defense Production Act
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
September 29, 2021
Issuing agencies
Homeland Security DepartmentFederal Emergency Management Agency
Abstract
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) held two meetings to implement the Voluntary Agreement for the Manufacture and Distribution of Critical Healthcare Resources Necessary to Respond to a Pandemic.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 86 Issue 186 (Wednesday, September 29, 2021)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 186 (Wednesday, September 29, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 53974-53975]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2021-21192]
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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
Federal Emergency Management Agency
[Docket ID FEMA-2020-0016]
Meetings 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 meetings.
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SUMMARY: The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) held two
meetings to implement the Voluntary Agreement for the Manufacture and
Distribution of Critical Healthcare Resources Necessary to Respond to a
Pandemic.
DATES: The first meeting took place on Tuesday, September 21, 2021,
from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. Eastern Time (ET). The second meeting took
place on Thursday, September 23, 2021, from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. ET.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Robert Glenn, Office of Business,
Industry, Infrastructure Integration, via email at <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#09464b3a40496f6c6468276d617a276e667f"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="fcb3becfb5bc9a99919dd298948fd29b938a">[email protected]</span></a> or
via phone at (202) 212-1666.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Notice of these meetings 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 representatives of industry, business, and other
interests to help provide for the national defense.\1\ The President's
authority to facilitate voluntary agreements with respect to responding
to the spread of COVID-19 within the United States was delegated to the
Secretary of Homeland Security in Executive Order 13911.\2\ The
Secretary of Homeland Security 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, Manufacture and Distribution of Critical Healthcare
Resources Necessary to
[[Page 53975]]
Respond to a Pandemic'' (Voluntary Agreement).\4\ Unless terminated
earlier, 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 (PPE Plan of Action)--was
finalized.\5\ The PPE Plan of Action established several sub-committees
under the Voluntary Agreement, focusing on different aspects of the PPE
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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On May 24, 2021, four additional plans of action under the
Voluntary Agreement--the Plan of Action to Establish a National
Strategy for the Manufacture, Allocation, and Distribution of
Diagnostic Test Kits and other Testing Components to respond to COVID-
19, the Plan of Action to Establish a National Strategy for the
Manufacture, Allocation, and Distribution of Drug Products, Drug
Substances, and Associated Medical Devices to respond to COVID-19, the
Plan of Action to Establish a National Strategy for the Manufacture,
Allocation, and Distribution of Medical Devices to respond to COVID-19,
and the Plan of Action to Establish a National Strategy for the
Manufacture, Allocation, and Distribution of Medical Gases to respond
to COVID-19--were finalized.\6\ These plans of action established
several sub-committees under the Voluntary Agreement, focusing on
different aspects of each plan of action.
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\6\ See 86 FR 27894 (May 24, 2021). See also 86 FR 28851 (May
28, 2021).
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The meetings were chaired by the FEMA Administrator or her delegate
and attended by the Attorney General and the Chairman of the Federal
Trade Commission or their delegates. In implementing the Voluntary
Agreement, FEMA adheres to all procedural requirements of 50 U.S.C.
4558 and 44 CFR part 332.
Meeting Objectives: The objectives of the meetings were as follows:
1. Gather committee Participants and Attendees to ask targeted
questions for situational awareness related to the active Plans of
Action (PPE, Drug Products and Drug Substances, Diagnostic Test Kits,
Medical Devices, and Medical Gases).
2. Establish priorities for COVID-19 response under the Voluntary
Agreement.
3. Identify tasks that should be completed under the appropriate
Sub-Committee.
4. Identify information gaps and areas that merit sharing (both
from FEMA to the private sector and vice versa).
Meetings 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.\7\ However, attendance may be limited if the
Sponsor \8\ 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), such as trade secrets and commercial or financial
information. The Sponsor of the Voluntary Agreement, the FEMA
Administrator, found that these meetings to implement the Voluntary
Agreement involved matters which fall within the purview of matters
described in 5 U.S.C. 552b(c) and the meetings were therefore closed to
the public.
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\7\ See 50 U.S.C. 4558(h)(7).
\8\ ``[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, these meetings to implement the Voluntary Agreement
may have required 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 these meetings could have had a
strong chilling effect on private sector participation and caused a
substantial risk that sensitive information would be prematurely
released to the public, leading to participants withdrawing their
support from the Voluntary Agreement.
This would have significantly frustrated 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
pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552b(c)(9)(B).
Deanne Criswell,
Administrator, Federal Emergency Management Agency.
[FR Doc. 2021-21192 Filed 9-28-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 9111-19-P
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