Patrick McHenryChairman

Washington, March 18, 2020 -

WASHINGTON – Today, the Republican leader of the House Financial Services Committee, Patrick McHenry (NC-10), issued the following statement after President Trump invoked the Defense Production Act (DPA) in the ongoing fight against coronavirus (COVID-19):

“This is an aggressive and necessary move by President Trump. By invoking the Defense Production Act, the President is taking another important step to expand production capacity and work with our manufacturers in this nationwide fight against coronavirus. Ultimately, this will help ensure the American people have access to testing, medical supplies, and lifesaving medicines.”

Key facts:

• The President and designated agencies can use DPA for several purposes, including:
• DPA funds carry over year to year. The Administration can access DPA funds immediately to retrofit pharmacies and parking lots for drive thru and drive up testing, for example.

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