President Donald Trump has invoked, but not yet enacted the Defense Production Act to compel the nation's manufacturers to prioritize the production of medical equipment and supplies the nation's hospitals need in the fight against coronavirus because the nation's businesses are stepping up, FEMA Administrator Peter Gaynor said Sunday.
"If it comes to a point where we have to pull the lever, we will, " Gaynor told CNN "State of the Union" anchor Jake Tapper. "It really is leverage, I think, to demonstrate that we can use it, the president can use it any time...it's happening without using that lever."
FEMA has been shipping out supplies from the national stockpile for weeks, but the issue is that the demand on critical items such as masks and other personal protection equipment is not only national, but global, said Gaynor.
"We're looking for commercial sources and donations," he said. "It's not just about the federal government buying it. It's also about those hospitals and other facilities. If you find it on the market, go ahead and buy it. FEMA will reimburse you for it."
Gaynor told ABC News's "This Week" that masks and other equipment have been shipping out, with the focus on the most critical hot spots in the country, but he would not answer directly whether healthcare systems will be overwhelmed with patients before they get the items that are needed.
The government, he said, is "prepared to go to zero in the stockpile to meet demand."
Gaynor could not give Tapper a rough number about how much equipment is going out, saying that he could just say the shipments are happening every day.
Priority is being taken to get the equipment first to the nation's hotspots, such as in New York, California, and Washington state, Gaynor added.
He also asked Americans to refrain from being tested for coronavirus if they do not have symptoms as another way to conserve vital equipment.
FEMA and the Army Corps of Engineers are also already building hospital tents nationwide to prepare for the influx, Gaynor confirmed.
"We want to focus on where the need is," he said. "We don't want to waste our precious resources."
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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