House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Thursday said President Trump must use a Korean War-era law to procure hospital gear immediately instead of waiting for the coronavirus crisis to worsen, saying there is “not a day to lose.”
The California Democrat said the Defense Production Act is the right tool to rush much-needed ventilators, diagnostic tests, masks and other personal protective equipment to health workers who might be overrun and ill-equipped for the pandemic.
The 1950 act gives the president broad powers to procure materials from private industries.
“Right now, shortages of critical medical and personal protective equipment are harming our ability to fight the coronavirus epidemic, endangering frontline workers and making it harder to care for those who fall ill,” Mrs. Pelosi said. “The president must immediately use the powers of the Defense Production Act to mass-produce and coordinate distribution of these critical supplies before the need worsens and the shortages become even more dire.”
Mr. Trump signed an executive order that paves the way for his invocation of the act, though he later tweeted that he will only use it in the worst-case scenarios, so “hopefully there will be no need.”
Democrats who urged the president to invoke the Defense Production Act a week ago say the need is there.
“There is not a day to lose,” Mrs. Pelosi said. “We must put more testing, more protective equipment and more ventilators into the hands of our frontline workers immediately.”
The coronavirus causes a disease, COVID-19, which is mild in some but can cause several respiratory distress and death.
It has infected more than 9,400 people in the U.S. and killed at least 150, according to the Johns Hopkins University tracker.
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.