One of President-elect Joe Biden's COVID-19 advisers said that he will invoke the Defense Production Act after he takes office to help augment the production of coronavirus vaccines.

 

What You Need To Know

  • Dr. Celine Gounder, one of Biden's COVID-19 advisers, said that the president-elect will invoke the Defense Production Act after he takes office to help augment the production of coronavirus vaccines

  • The Defense Production Act, a federal law enacted on Sept. 8, 1950, in response to the Korean War, allows the president to compel private companies to manufacture items deemed necessary for national defense

  • In March, President Donald Trump issued an order to invoked the act in order to compel General Motors to produce ventilators

 

"You will see him invoking the Defense Production Act,” said Dr. Celine Gounder, a member of the president-elect's COVID-19 advisory board, during an interview on CNBC Monday. 

“The idea there is to make sure the personal protective equipment, the test capacity, and the raw materials for the vaccines are produced in adequate supply," she added.

The Defense Production Act, a federal law enacted on Sept. 8, 1950, in response to the Korean War, allows the president to compel private companies to manufacture items deemed necessary for national defense. 

In March, President Donald Trump issued an order to invoked the act in order to compel General Motors to produce ventilators. 

"Our negotiations with GM regarding its ability to supply ventilators have been productive, but our fight against the virus is too urgent to allow the give-and-take of the contracting process to continue to run its normal course," Trump said in March. "GM was wasting time. Today’s action will help ensure the quick production of ventilators that will save American lives."

General Motors denied that they were not moving fast enough: “I don’t think anybody could have done it faster,” Gerald Johnson, GM’s global manufacturing chief, said.

Over the decades, the law’s powers have been understood to encompass not only times of war but also domestic emergency preparedness and recovery from terrorist attacks and natural disasters.

The act authorizes the president to require companies to prioritize government contracts and orders seen as necessary for the national defense, with the goal of ensuring that the private sector is producing enough goods needed to meet a war effort or other national emergency.

It also authorizes the president to use loans, direct purchases and other incentives to boost the production of critical goods and essential materials.

Other provisions authorize the federal government to establish voluntary agreements with private industry and to block foreign mergers and acquisitions seen as harmful to national security.

In July, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi urged Trump to invoke the act to help reduce shortfalls in Personal Protective Equipment and testing.

Dr. Gounder is an infectious diseases specialist and internist and a clinical assistant professor at New York University's Grossman School of Medicine, according to NYU-Langone. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report.