Follow Up: White House Issues Order under Defense Production Act as Part of COVID Response

In our March 19 alert, C&M summarized President Trump’s recent executive order invoking the Defense Production Act (DPA). In this follow-up, we provide three separate analyses. First, we provide a discussion of the Defense Production Act, and the implications of the executive order for U.S. businesses and the government in its efforts to reduce the impact of COVID-19. Second, we discuss the current Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) regulations implementing its priorities and allocations authority prior to the executive order. And third, we discuss the manner in which the government most frequently has exercised similar authorities under the DPA pursuant to the Defense Prioritization and Allocation System (DPAS).