S. 4050: Public Health Emergency Production Act of 2020

116th Congress · introduced 2020-06-23 · Health · Latest: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.

federal

Follow this bill, step by step

Where it came from: introduced 2020-06-23 · official record
Who proposed it: Sen. Duckworth, Tammy [D-IL] · what a sponsor is
What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
Where it stands now: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs. Not final yet: this can still change. We check for updates every day.
If it becomes law and spends money: follow the money to money laws, then agencies and contracts and grants.

What does this mean?

Official title

Public Health Emergency Production Act of 2020

Plain summary

Public Health Emergency Production Act of 2020 This bill modifies the administration of the Defense Production Act of 1950 and requires reporting on the use of authorities under the act during the COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) emergency. (That act confers upon the President a broad set of authorities to influence domestic industry in order to provide essential materials and goods needed for the national defense.) Specifically, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) must require companies to prioritize the fulfillment of federal contracts or orders necessary for pandemic preparedness and response upon finding that (1) a material is essential to the public health, and (2) public health needs cannot be met through normal distribution channels. HHS must also establish, within the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response, an office responsible for Defense Production Act of 1950 activities. Other changes include (1) eliminating a requirement to transfer any balance in excess of $750 million from the Defense Production Act Fund to the General Fund of the Department of the Treasury, and (2) enabling personnel to rotate between the Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Industrial Policy and specified components of HHS. With respect to reporting, the Defense Production Act Committee must report general information concerning the use of Defense Production Act of 1950 authorities, and the Office of the Inspector General for the Department of Agriculture must report on the use of such authorities specifically with respect to the operations of meat processing facilities, during the COVID-19 emergency.

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate), quoted unchanged (nonpartisan). Read the source.

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A “Nay” vote

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What does this mean? (plain words)

Official text

Public Health Emergency Production Act of 2020

Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate)

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How did my representative vote? · This bill's floor votes

Officials and money

Sponsor: Sen. Duckworth, Tammy [D-IL] · 2 cosponsors

Cost estimate: No cost estimate published yet.

Cosponsors on this site

Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Angus S. King, Jr. (I-ME)

Sponsor's campaign money: Sen. Duckworth, Tammy [D-IL] reported raising $6.1 million (2025–2026). Details. Shown for context only; it does not mean any donor supported this bill.

No linked floor roll calls in our collected records yet. This does not mean the bill has never had a vote. Check the official bill history.

Words on this page, explained (1)

Bill: A proposed law. It becomes law only if it passes the legislature and is signed by the president or governor (or a veto is overridden).

Plain meanings written from linked sources. All words.

Sources

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate)
Congress.gov
Data: GovInfo BILLSTATUS bulk data (Library of Congress), BILLSTATUS-116s4050.xml <https://www.govinfo.gov/bulkdata/BILLSTATUS/116/s>

Record fed-us-cong116-s4050 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong116 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong116