Preventing Hoarding of Health and Medical Resources To Respond to the Spread of COVID-19
Mar 26, 2020
Signed by: Donald Trump
Signed on: Mar 23, 2020
Published on: Mar 26, 2020
Mar 26, 2020
Signed by: Donald Trump
Signed on: Mar 23, 2020
Published on: Mar 26, 2020
Summary
Gives the government power to stop people and businesses from collecting too many medical supplies needed to fight the COVID-19 pandemic.
What problem does this solve?
During the COVID-19 pandemic, people were buying and holding onto more medical supplies than they needed, making it hard for hospitals to get them. This order gives the Secretary of Health and Human Services the power to stop this hoarding and make sure supplies are available.
What does this order do?
Gives anti-hoarding power to the Secretary of Health and Human Services
Delegates presidential authority under the Defense Production Act to the Secretary of HHS to stop the hoarding of needed health and medical supplies.
Allows designation of scarce materials
Permits the Secretary to officially name certain items as scarce, making it illegal to hoard them or resell them at excessively high prices.
Requires consultation with FEMA
Mandates that the Secretary of Health and Human Services must work with the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency when using these new powers.
Reference
Text:
Section:
Header:
Secretarial duty concerning notices of withdrawal of designation
Requires review of scarce item lists
The Secretary must periodically check if items still need to be designated as scarce and must publish a notice in the Federal Register when a designation is removed.
Who does this affect?
- Healthcare providers
- Medical supply distributors and manufacturers
- General public
What is the real world impact?
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Ensures fair access to medical supplies
Prevents individuals and businesses from buying up essential medical resources, like masks and sanitizer, so that hospitals and healthcare workers can get what they need to treat patients during the pandemic.
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Expands federal power over private markets
Allows the government to decide what counts as 'too much' for a person or business to own and to control the distribution of certain goods. This could be seen as an overreach into the free market.
When does this start?
This order became effective on March 23, 2020.
Reference
Text:
Section:
Header:
Secretarial duty concerning notices of withdrawal of designation
Ongoing review of scarce materials
The Secretary of Health and Human Services must periodically review if the designated scarce materials are still needed and withdraw the designation if they are not.