WASHINGTON, D.C. - Niles-area Democratic Rep. Tim Ryan on Tuesday announced that he’s introducing a bill that would require President Donald Trump to federalize the manufacturing and production of medical products that are in short supply during the coronavirus pandemic, as thousands of hospitals and state governments compete against each to order them.

 

The bill would force Trump to identify private sector capacity to produce 500 million surgical masks and pairs of gloves, 20 million surgical gowns and face shields and 200,000 medical ventilators, and to direct their distribution to end competition for them. Hospitals in some parts of the country say the shortage of medical supplies is keeping them from adequately treating coronavirus patients.

 

The Defense Production Act of 1950 gives presidents broad authority to influence domestic industry during national emergencies. On Monday, Trump invoked his authority under that law to sign an executive order to fight hoarding that threatens the supply of necessary health and medical resources. And on Tuesday, the head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency told CNN it will use the law to acquire around 60,000 coronavirus testing kits, and would insert Defense Production Act language into contracts to buy protective masks

 

But Ryan and numerous other Democrats in Congress want Trump to use the authority provided under that law to address widespread shortages of key materials during the coronavirus epidemic, including ventilators, diagnostic test supplies, masks and other personal protection equipment.

 

“The federal government is not supposed to be out there buying vast amounts of items and then shipping,” Trump said last week. “You know, we’re not a shipping clerk.”

 

The American Medical Association has urged him to fully employ the Defense Production Act’s production and distribution mechanisms because the medical equipment shortages pose serious safety risks to health care workers and the patients they treat.

 

“Physicians don’t have enough masks; they are wearing a single mask all day, cleaning them at home, and sewing their own protective gear, said a statement from AMA President Patrice A. Harris. "Confronting COVID-19 requires an all-hands-on-deck approach from federal, state, and local governments, and we urge our leaders to pull every lever at their disposal to ramp up test kit availability and to equip physicians and the healthcare workforce to fight the virus. Anything less is unacceptable at this critical juncture.”

 

On Friday, Sen. Sherrod Brown of Ohio and 19 other Democrats in the U.S. Senate sent a letter that urged Trump to use his Defense Production Act powers to "massively scale up production of testing kits, Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) such as respirators and gloves, ventilators, and other critical materials that our country needs during the coronavirus emergency."