Meeting To Implement Pandemic Response Voluntary Agreement Under Section 708 of the Defense Production Act, 63041-63042 [2021-24886]

Agencies

• Federal Emergency Management Agency
• DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 217 (Monday, November 15, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 63041-63042]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-24886]



[[Page 63041]]

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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 Thursday, December 16, 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 Wednesday, December 15, 2021. Follow-up 
comments must be received by 5 p.m. ET on Wednesday, December 23, 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://fema.zoomgov.com/j/1616569597?pwd=TEMzUzljZGR0YlJNVkVHbW1UUEN2Zz09.
    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 Office of Response and Recovery, 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 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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    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.\7\ This plan of action established several 
sub-committees under the Voluntary Agreement, focusing on different 
transportation categories.
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    \7\ See 86 FR 57444 (October 15, 2021).
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    The meeting is 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

[[Page 63042]]

requirements of 50 U.S.C. 4558 and 44 CFR part 332.
    Meeting Objectives: The objective of the meeting is to update the 
general public, and private industry partners, on the status of the 
Voluntary Agreement, the recently established National Multimodal Plan 
of Action, and other Plans of Action concerning PPE, Medical Devices, 
Medical Gases, Diagnostic Testing Kits, and Drug Products/Drug 
Substances.
    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.\8\ However, attendance may be limited if the Sponsor \9\ 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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    \8\ See 50 U.S.C. 4558(h)(7).
    \9\ ``[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 the meeting to the public could have a 
strong chilling effect on participation by the private sector and cause 
a substantial risk of premature public release of sensitive 
information. Such a release of sensitive information could result 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 pursuant 
to 5 U.S.C. 552b(c)(9)(B).

Deanne Criswell,
Administrator, Federal Emergency Management Agency.
[FR Doc. 2021-24886 Filed 11-12-21; 8:45 am]
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