Meetings To Implement Pandemic Response Voluntary Agreement Under Section 708 of the Defense Production Act, 67071-67072 [2021-25650]

Agencies

• Federal Emergency Management Agency
• DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 224 (Wednesday, November 24, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 67071-67072]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-25650]


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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 to implement the Voluntary Agreement for the 
Manufacture and Distribution of Critical Healthcare Resources Necessary 
to Respond to a Pandemic.

DATES: The first meeting took place on Wednesday, November 17, 2021, 
from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. Eastern Time (ET). The second meeting will take 
place on Wednesday, December 1, 2021, from 10:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. ET. 
The third meeting will take place on Thursday, December 2, 2021, from 1 
p.m. to 2:30 p.m. ET. The fourth meeting will take place on Wednesday, 
December 15, 2021, from 10:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. ET.

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 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 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

[[Page 67072]]

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 (Oct. 15, 2021).
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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 first, second, and fourth 
meetings are as follows:
    1. Meet the Sub-Committee for Oxygen under the Medical Gases Plan 
of Action to establish priorities related to the COVID-19 response 
under the Voluntary Agreement.
    2. Gather Sub-Committee Participants and Attendees to ask targeted 
questions for situational awareness related to the Sub-Committee for 
Oxygen.
    3. Identify potential Objectives and Actions that should be 
completed under the Sub-Committee for Oxygen.
    4. Identify pandemic-related information gaps and areas that merit 
sharing by holding recurring meetings of the Sub-Committee for Oxygen 
with key stakeholders.

    Meeting Objectives: The objectives of the third meeting are as 
follows:

    1. Convene the Sub-Committee to Define Requirements under the 
previously-established Medical Devices Plan of Action to assess its 
status related to COVID-19 response under the Voluntary Agreement.
    2. Gather Sub-Committee Participants and Attendees to ask targeted 
questions for situational awareness.
    3. Identify pandemic-related supply chain issues, information gaps, 
and areas for potential additional discussion.
    4. Identify potential Objectives and Actions which correspond to 
Sub-Committees. These will be held for further discussion under those 
Sub-Committees.

    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.\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), such as trade secrets and commercial or financial 
information.
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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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    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 prematurely released to the public. A premature 
public disclosure of a private sector participant's information could 
reduce trust and support for the Voluntary Agreement.
    A resulting loss of support by the participants for the Voluntary 
Agreement would significantly frustrate 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. 2021-25650 Filed 11-23-21; 8:45 am]
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