Eyeless on Campus: COVID19 HOARDING--Defense Production Act, Sect. 2072--FEDERAL REGISTER LIST--03/30/2020

Sunday, March 29, 2020

COVID19 HOARDING--Defense Production Act, Sect. 2072--FEDERAL REGISTER LIST--03/30/2020

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   "...opening the door for speculators and profiteers to bypass restrictions on cornering the market..."

   (The Scullery)-- Section 2072 of the Defense Production Act (DPA) of 1950 represents "Hoarding of designated scarce materials," with the following paragraph;
   "...no person shall accumulate (1) in excess of the reasonable demands of business, personal, or home consumption, or (2) for the purpose of resale at prices in excess of prevailing market prices, materials which have been designated by the President as scarce materials or materials the supply of which would be threatened by such accumulation. The President shall order published in the Federal Register, and in such other manner as he may deem appropriate, every designation of materials the accumulation of which is unlawful and any withdrawal of such designation."
That list related to the COVID-19 Emergency can be found at the Federal Register and is dated tomorrow, 20 March 2020:

   The DPA calls for a penalty of not more than $10,000 or one year in prison, or both; which seems rather inadequate when considering what profiteers might stand to gain by stockpiling some of the critical items like surgical masks. Number 15 appears to be just one of those critical and scarce items;
   "Ventilators, anesthesia gas machines modified for use as ventilators, and positive pressure breathing devices modified for use as ventilators (collectively referred to as ‘‘ventilators’’), ventilator tubing connectors, and ventilator accessories." (FedReg)
   The link at the Federal Register, https://www.fda.gov/ media/136318/download, related to FDA Enforcement Policy for Ventilators returns "Page Not Found." Without access to FDA definitions, to what degree the ventilators and their accessories come under the DPA and FDA mandates remains unclear, thus opening the door for speculators and profiteers to bypass restrictions on cornering the market.

Most, if not all, of the items listed at the Register are in direct relation to medical supplies and seem to overlook consumer based items such as bathroom paper products which have been in critical short supply since the onset of the pandemic crisis. To what degree the federal government through the DPA has authority over determination if the paper products fall under the hoarding category is unclear. Some of the restrictions are listed below Section 2072 but do not clarify a position on consumer products. There may be stipulations on price controls that would curtail scalping by hoarders.

Sources
Hoarding, DPA, Sect 2072, https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCODE-2014-title50/html/USCODE-2014-title50-app-defensepr.htm
FedReg Hoarding Bulletin, https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2020-03-30/pdf/2020-06641.pdf
Factory Image, Hamilton Medical Mfgr.

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