Notice2021-22069
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
October 8, 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 193 (Friday, October 8, 2021)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 193 (Friday, October 8, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 56284-56286]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2021-22069]
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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
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Agreement for the Manufacture and Distribution of Critical Healthcare
Resources Necessary to Respond to a Pandemic.
DATES: The first meeting took place on Thursday, September 30, 2021,
from 10:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. Eastern Time (ET). The second meeting took
place on Thursday, October 7, 2021, from 10:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. ET.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Robert Glenn, Office of Business,
Industry, Infrastructure Integration, via email at <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#e1aea3d2a8a187848c80cf858992cf868e97"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="eea1acdda7ae888b838fc08a869dc0898198">[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 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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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.\9\ However, attendance may be limited if the
Sponsor \10\ 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.
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\9\ See 50 U.S.C. 4558(h)(7).
\10\ ``[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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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.
Specifically, these meetings 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 to the public pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552b(c)(4).
The success of the Voluntary Agreement depends wholly on the
willing participation of the private sector participants. Failure to
close these meetings to the public could reduce active participation by
the signatories due to a perceived risk that sensitive company
information could be prematurely released to the public. A premature
public disclosure of a private sector participant's information could
reduce trust and support for the Voluntary Agreement.
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A resulting loss of support by the participants for the Voluntary
Agreement would significantly frustrate the implementation of the
Agency's objectives. Thus, these meeting closures are permitted
pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552b(c)(9)(B).
Deanne Criswell,
Administrator, Federal Emergency Management Agency.
[FR Doc. 2021-22069 Filed 10-7-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 9111-19-P
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