Delegating Additional Authority Under the Defense Production Act With Respect to Health and Medical Resources To Respond to the Spread of COVID-19
The order delegates broad Defense Production Act authority to the Secretaries of Health and Human Services and Homeland Security, enabling both to guarantee loans, commit to purchases, and broker voluntary private-sector agreements to expand domestic production of PPE, ventilators, and other COVID-19 medical resources.
It builds on two prior COVID-related DPA orders by adding DHS as a co-equal actor alongside HHS, waiving certain procedural requirements during the national emergency, and naming a White House policy coordinator for DPA activities.
What this order does
What it orders
The order delegates three categories of Defense Production Act authority to the HHS and DHS Secretaries for COVID-19 response: Title III powers to guarantee loans, make loans, and commit to purchases in order to expand domestic industrial capacity for health and medical resources; Title VII powers to broker and approve voluntary cooperative agreements among private-sector businesses; and the prioritization and anti-hoarding authorities under sections 101 and 102 of the Act (previously delegated only to HHS in prior orders) now extended to DHS as well. Certain DPA procedural requirements — including specific findings that would otherwise be mandatory before invoking loan or purchase authority — are waived for the duration of the declared national emergency. The Assistant to the President for Trade and Manufacturing Policy is designated National Defense Production Act Policy Coordinator.
The order does not itself direct any specific loan, purchase, or production contract; those actions depend on future exercises of discretion by the two Secretaries. DHS must consult HHS before acting on health or medical resources, and both Secretaries must obtain prior Attorney General approval (after FTC consultation) before entering voluntary industry agreements under Title VII. Both Secretaries are also directed to adopt implementing rules and regulations.
Who it affects
Medical supply manufacturers, PPE producers, ventilator makers, and other health and medical resource companies that may receive federal loan guarantees, purchase commitments, or be invited into voluntary production agreements. Federal agencies — primarily HHS and DHS — that now hold parallel authority to act.
Why it matters
Manufacturers facing uncertainty about pandemic-era demand can now receive government-backed financing or binding purchase commitments, reducing the financial risk of rapidly scaling up production. DHS gains direct authority over civilian health-supply distribution that it previously lacked, potentially speeding federal response to shortages.
What must happen and when
How the order is supposed to work
HHS and DHS hold parallel delegated authority but must coordinate: DHS must consult HHS before acting on health or medical resources, and HHS must notify DHS of any Title VII authority it uses. For voluntary industry agreements, either Secretary must obtain Attorney General approval after FTC consultation before finalizing arrangements. The White House Trade and Manufacturing Policy Assistant coordinates overall DPA policy. Both Secretaries must also adopt implementing rules and regulations, and DHS must periodically reassess its anti-hoarding designations, publishing Federal Register notices when a designation is no longer needed.
Actions and deadlines
- Adopt and revise rules and regulations necessary to implement the order
- Secretary of Homeland Security to periodically review section 102 anti-hoarding designations and publish Federal Register withdrawal notices when no longer necessary