Meeting To Implement Pandemic Response Voluntary Agreement Under Section 708 of the Defense Production Act, 2688-2689 [2021-00505]

Agencies

• Federal Emergency Management Agency
• DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 8 (Wednesday, January 13, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 2688-2689]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-00505]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

Federal Emergency Management Agency

[Docket ID FEMA-2020-0016]


Meeting 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 meeting; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) will hold a 
meeting remotely via web conference to implement the Voluntary 
Agreement for the Manufacture and Distribution of Critical Healthcare 
Resources Necessary to Respond to a Pandemic. A portion of the meeting 
will be open to the public.

DATES: The meeting will take place on Friday, January 15, 2021, from 2 
to 4 p.m. Eastern Time (ET). The first portion of the meeting, from 
approximately 2 to 3 p.m. ET, will be open to the public.
    Written comments for consideration at the meeting must be submitted 
and received by 12 p.m. ET on Thursday, January 14, 2021. Follow-up 
comments must be received by 5 p.m. ET on Friday, January 22, 2021, to 
be considered.

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held via web conference. Members of the 
public may view the public portion of the meeting online at https://pandemicdpa708.com.
    Reasonable accommodations are available for people with 
disabilities. To request a reasonable accommodation, contact the person 
listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section below as soon as 
possible. Last minute requests will be accepted but may not be possible 
to fulfill.
    To facilitate public participation, members of the public are 
invited to provide written comments on the issues to be considered at 
the meeting. The Meeting Objectives listed below outline these issues. 
Written comments must be identified by Docket ID FEMA-2020-0016, and 
submitted by one of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: https://www.regulations.gov. 
Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
     Email: FEMA's Office of Business, Industry, Infrastructure 
Integration, [email protected].
    Instructions: All submissions must include the docket ID FEMA-2020-
0016. Comments received, including any personal information provided, 
may be posted without alteration at https://www.regulations.gov.
    Docket: For access to the docket and to read comments received by 
FEMA, go to https://www.regulations.gov and search for Docket ID FEMA-
2020-0016.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Robert Glenn, Office of Business, 
Industry, Infrastructure Integration, via email at [email protected] or 
via phone at (202) 212-1666.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Notice of this meeting 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, among others, representatives of industry and 
business to help provide for the national defense.\1\ The President's 
authority to facilitate voluntary agreements was delegated to the 
Secretary of Homeland Security with respect to responding to the spread 
of COVID-19 within the United States in Executive Order 13911.\2\ The 
Secretary of Homeland Security has 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 
for the Manufacture and Distribution of Critical Healthcare Resources 
Necessary to Respond to a Pandemic'' (Voluntary Agreement).\4\ Unless 
terminated prior to that date, 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 (Plan of Action)--was 
finalized.\5\ The Plan of Action established several sub-committees 
under the Voluntary Agreement, focusing on different aspects of the 
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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    The meeting will be chaired by the FEMA Administrator or his 
delegate, and attended by the Attorney General or his delegate and the 
Chairman of the Federal Trade Commission or his delegate. In 
implementing the Voluntary Agreement, FEMA adheres to all procedural 
requirements of 50 U.S.C. 4558 and 44 CFR part 332.

[[Page 2689]]

    Meeting Objectives: The objective of the meeting is to update the 
general public, and private industry partners, on the status of the 
Voluntary Agreement, PPE Plan of Action, and potential future Plans of 
Action.
    Meeting 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). The Sponsor of the Voluntary Agreement, the FEMA 
Administrator, found that a portion of this meeting to implement the 
Voluntary Agreement involves matters which fall within the purview of 
matters described in 5 U.S.C. 552b(c) and that portion of the meeting 
will therefore be closed to the public.
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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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    Specifically, the meeting to implement the Voluntary Agreement 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 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 this meeting could have a strong 
chilling effect on participation by the private sector and cause a 
substantial risk that sensitive information will be prematurely 
released to the public, resulting in participants withdrawing their 
support from the Voluntary Agreement and thus significantly frustrating 
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 to pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552b(c)(9)(B).

Pete Gaynor,
Administrator, Federal Emergency Management Agency.
[FR Doc. 2021-00505 Filed 1-12-21; 8:45 am]
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