Notice2021-22508
Notice Pursuant to the Defense Production Act of 1950
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 15, 2021
Issuing agencies
Justice DepartmentAntitrust Division
Abstract
Notice is hereby given pursuant to section 708 of the Defense Production Act of 1950 (``DPA''), that the Acting Assistant Attorney General finds, with respect to the Plan of Action to Establish a National Strategy for the Coordination of National Multimodal Healthcare Supply Chains to Respond to COVID-19 (``Plan of Action'') proposed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (``FEMA''), that the purposes of section 708(c)(1) of the DPA may not reasonably be achieved through a plan of action having less anticompetitive effects or without any plan of action. Given this finding, the proposed Plan of Action may become effective following the publication of this notice.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 86 Issue 197 (Friday, October 15, 2021)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 197 (Friday, October 15, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Page 57444]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2021-22508]
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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
Antitrust Division
Notice Pursuant to the Defense Production Act of 1950
AGENCY: Antitrust Division, Department of Justice.
ACTION: Notice of review of plan of action.
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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given pursuant to section 708 of the Defense
Production Act of 1950 (``DPA''), that the Acting Assistant Attorney
General finds, with respect to the Plan of Action to Establish a
National Strategy for the Coordination of National Multimodal
Healthcare Supply Chains to Respond to COVID-19 (``Plan of Action'')
proposed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (``FEMA''), that
the purposes of section 708(c)(1) of the DPA may not reasonably be
achieved through a plan of action having less anticompetitive effects
or without any plan of action. Given this finding, the proposed Plan of
Action may become effective following the publication of this notice.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under the DPA, FEMA may enter into plans
with representatives of private industry for the purpose of improving
the efficiency with which private firms contribute to the national
defense when conditions exist that may pose a direct threat to the
national defense or its preparedness. Such arrangements are generally
known as ``voluntary agreements.'' Participants in an existing
voluntary agreement may adopt documented methods, known as ``plans of
action,'' to implement that voluntary agreement. A defense to actions
brought under the antitrust laws is available to each participant
acting within the scope of a voluntary agreement and plan of action
that has come into force under the DPA.
The DPA requires that each proposed plan of action be reviewed by
the Attorney General prior to becoming effective. If, after consulting
with the Chair of the Federal Trade Commission, the Attorney General
finds that the purposes of the DPA's plans of action provision ``may
not reasonably be achieved through a . . . plan of action having less
anticompetitive effects or without any . . . plan of action,'' the plan
of action may become effective. 50 U.S.C. 4558(f)(1)(B). All functions
which the Attorney General is required or authorized to perform by
section 708 of the DPA have been delegated to the Assistant Attorney
General, Antitrust Division. 28 CFR 0.40(l).
On August 17, 2020, the Voluntary Agreement for the Manufacture and
Distribution of Critical Healthcare Resources Necessary to Respond to a
Pandemic (``Voluntary Agreement'') became effective. The proposed Plan
of Action contains documented methods to implement the Voluntary
Agreement by creating a mechanism to immediately address exigent needs
within the National Multimodal Healthcare Supply Chains System and to
ensure actions to address such needs do not come with unacceptable
risks or interfere with other efforts to meet critical End-User
requirements. This mechanism involves the establishment of several Sub-
Committees by transportation type, which are designed to foster a close
working relationship among FEMA, the Department of Health and Human
Services (``HHS''), and participants of the Sub-Committees to address
national defense needs through cooperative action under the direction
and active supervision of FEMA. The proposed Plan of Action includes
terms, conditions, and procedures under which participants agree
voluntarily to participate in the Sub-Committees. FEMA has certified
that the proposed Plan of Action is necessary to provide for the
national defense in the event of a pandemic.
FEMA requested that the Acting Assistant Attorney General,
Antitrust Division, issue a finding that the proposed Plan of Action
satisfies the statutory criteria set forth in 50 U.S.C. 4558(f)(1)(B).
The Acting Assistant Attorney General, Antitrust Division, reviewed the
proposed Plan of Action and consulted on it with the Chair of the
Federal Trade Commission. On October 12, 2021, by letter to Deanne
Criswell, FEMA Administrator, Richard Powers, Acting Assistant Attorney
General, Antitrust Division, issued a finding, pursuant to 50 U.S.C.
4558(f)(1)(B), that the purposes of the DPA's plans of action provision
``may not reasonably be achieved through a . . . plan of action having
less anticompetitive effects or without any . . . plan of action.''
David G.B. Lawrence,
Chief, Competition Policy & Advocacy Section.
[FR Doc. 2021-22508 Filed 10-14-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4410-11-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on October 15, 2021.
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