White House to use Defense Production Act to procure test kits, FEMA chief says

[babylonsister]

About goddamned time.


White House to use Defense Production Act to procure test kits, FEMA chief says
Published Tue, Mar 24 202010:58 AM EDTUpdated 20 min ago
Thomas Franck

FEMA chief Peter Gaynor says the Trump administration is using the Defense Production Act for the first time to acquire some 60,000 test kits.

He added that the White House will add “DPA language” into its mass contract for 500 million masks.

The DPA empowers the White House to require and provide incentives to businesses to produce goods to support U.S. national defense.

“So we’re going to use it. We’re going to use it when we need it. And we’re going to use it today,” Gaynor said.

The Trump administration plans to use the Defense Production Act for the first time during this coronavirus pandemic on Tuesday to procure thousands of COVID-19 test kits as the disease continues its spread across the country.

Peter Gaynor, the Federal Emergency Management Agency administrator, told CNN that the administration had decided to use the Defense Production Act to acquire some 60,000 kits. The FEMA chief added that the White House will add “DPA language” into its mass contract for 500 million masks.

“We’re actually going to use the DPA for the first time today. There are some test kits we need to get our hands on,” he told CNN. “And the second thing we’re going to do is we’re going to insert some language into these mass contracts that we have.”

“So we’re going to use it. We’re going to use it when we need it. And we’re going to use it today,” Gaynor said.

more...

https://www.cnbc.com/2020/03/24/white-house-to-use-defense-production-act-to-procure-test-kits-fema-chief-says.html

[spanone]

1. Believe it when I see it.

60,000 seems like a pittance...?

[Lindsay]

2. That was my reaction,

word for word.

[Tech]

13. How many 1%ers are they in the country?

[uponit7771]

3. When? Today when they're needed or in about a 3 months !? These Trump admin people are

... always slick with their words

[babylonsister]

11. Starting today according to article. nt

[wendyb-NC]

4. That's great, but what about manufacturing respirators,

you need to get started already!

[Drahthaardogs]

5. Thank God if this is true!

Fingers crossed

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

6. Should have done it a month ago.

[PA Democrat]

7. Should have been done LONG ago.

The level of inaction by the Trump administration is criminal.

[magicarpet]

8. Better late than never...

So what if the delay costs an extra 10,000 deaths. It is only the white trash poor and middle class suffering the blunt of the inaction.

[MFGsunny]

9. What would possibly make me at least think and consider ...

... that this unfathomable and derelict delay has something to do with them finding some single-source type contract award that MF45 and the rest of the grifter cabal can skim?

Gee ....... how could I think that?

The answer, my friend, is the blown-up, immoral prick Orange of Chaos.

[Yonnie3]

10. PR nothing more.

Adding some language ...

[stopdiggin]

12. another 180 out of the WH

Yesterday it was NO. Today it's YES ... Tomorrow it's, "We never said .."

And, in any event, this is largely window dressing. The DPA is really suppose to be about retooling and re-purposing production abilities. I don't see any of that here.