Notice2022-05093
Meetings To Implement Pandemic Response Voluntary Agreement Under Section 708 of the Defense Production Act
Primary source
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Published
March 10, 2022
Issuing agencies
Homeland Security DepartmentFederal Emergency Management Agency
Abstract
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is holding a series of meetings, under the Plan of Action to Establish a National Strategy for the Coordination of National Multimodal Healthcare Supply Chains to Respond to COVID-19, 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 87 Issue 47 (Thursday, March 10, 2022)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 47 (Thursday, March 10, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 13742-13743]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2022-05093]
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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) is holding a
series of meetings, under the Plan of Action to Establish a National
Strategy for the Coordination of National Multimodal Healthcare Supply
Chains to Respond to COVID-19, to implement the Voluntary Agreement for
the Manufacture and Distribution of Critical Healthcare Resources
Necessary to Respond to a Pandemic.
DATES:
<bullet> Wednesday, March 2, 2022, from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Eastern
Time (ET).
<bullet> Wednesday, March 16, 2022, from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. ET.
<bullet> Wednesday, March 30, 2022, from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. ET.
<bullet> Wednesday, April 13, 2022, from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. ET.
<bullet> Wednesday, April 27, 2022, from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. ET.
<bullet> Wednesday, May 11, 2022, from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. ET.
<bullet> Wednesday, May 25, 2022, from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. ET.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Robert Glenn, Office of Business,
Industry, and Infrastructure Integration, via email at
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#f3bcb1c0bab395969e92dd979b80dd949c85"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="236c61106a6345464e420d474b500d444c55">[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 October 15, 2021, the sixth plan of action under the Voluntary
Agreement--the Plan of Action to Establish a National Strategy for the
Coordination of National Multimodal Healthcare Supply Chains to Respond
to COVID-19--was finalized.\5\ This plan of action established several
sub-committees under the Voluntary Agreement, focusing on different
transportation categories.
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\5\ See 86 FR 57444 (Oct. 15, 2021). See also 87 FR 6880 (Feb.
7, 2022).
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The meetings are chaired by the FEMA Administrator's delegates from
the Office of Response and Recovery (ORR) and Office of Policy and
Program Analysis (OPPA), attended by the Attorney General's delegates
from the U.S. Department of Justice, and attended by the Chairman of
the Federal Trade Commission's 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 are as follows:
1. Convene the various Sub-Committees focused on Surface,
Maritime, and Aviation Transportation under the National Multimodal
Healthcare Supply Chains Plan of Action to establish priorities
related to the COVID-19 response under the Voluntary Agreement.
2. Convene the Requirements Sub-Committee under the National
Multimodal Healthcare Supply Chains Plan of Action, as a culmination
of the above series of meetings, by the end of May 2022.
3. Gather Sub-Committee Participants and Attendees to ask
targeted questions for situational awareness.
4. Identify pandemic-related supply chain issues, information
gaps, and areas for potential additional discussion.
5. Identify potential Objectives and Actions under the Sub-
Committees focused on Surface, Maritime, and Aviation
Transportation.
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.\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), such as trade secrets and commercial or financial
information.
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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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The Sponsor of the Voluntary Agreement, the FEMA Administrator,
found that these meetings to implement the Voluntary Agreement involve
matters which fall within the purview of matters described in 5 U.S.C.
552b(c) and the meetings are therefore closed to the public.
Specifically, these meetings 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 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 released to the public. A public disclosure of a
private sector participant's information executed prematurely could
reduce trust and support for the Voluntary Agreement.
A resulting loss of support by the participants for the Voluntary
Agreement would significantly hinder
[[Page 13743]]
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. 2022-05093 Filed 3-9-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 9111-19-P
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