Sen. Cruz calls on Trump to address medical supply shortages by invoking Defense Production Act

[Elderberry]

Houston Chronicle by  Benjamin Wermund March 23, 2020

Sen. Cruz calls on Trump to address medical supply shortages by invoking Defense Production Act

As President Donald Trump suggests the response to the coronavirus may be going too far, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz is urging his administration go further.

Cruz — who has emerged as one of the most vocal members of Congress on the dangers the virus poses — wants the administration to tell private manufacturers to begin making ventilators, warning the nation could soon face a shortage.

“I don't want to see doctors having to make a choice of who gets to live and who has to die because they don't have the equipment to save their lives,” Cruz said on his podcast, “Verdict.”

“You can't build a ventilator overnight,” he said. “And if we wake up two weeks from now and instead of 11,000 cases, we've got 200,000 cases or a million cases, it might be too late then.”

More: https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/article/Sen-Cruz-calls-on-Trump-to-address-medical-15151571.php

[libertybele]

I though Trump already did this??  During one of his recent press conferences I thought he announced that GM would be helping to assist with the manufacturing of ventilators and that navy ships and cruise lines were ready to be turned into hospitals if needed.

[dancer]

I though Trump already did this??  During one of his recent press conferences I thought he announced that GM would be helping to assist with the manufacturing of ventilators and that navy ships and cruise lines were ready to be turned into hospitals if needed.

He did indeed.  Sen.Cruz needs to catch up.   

[EdinVA]

Well, the other side of the coin......
The medical industry is a trillion dollar a year industry, why have they not taken the responsibility to have supplies stocked up for an epidemic/pandemic?
You pay for seat belts, not the government...
You pay for flu shots, not the government....
My honest view of the medical industry is we are being played.. It is true we have an unprecedented mess on our hands right now but for decades the medical's have been yelling about this stuff but it appears have done nothing to back up their accusations.

[Right_in_Virginia]

List: 74 actions taken by Trump to fight virus and bolster economy
Washington Examiner, Mar 24, 2020, Paul Bedard

[...]

STRENGTHENING ESSENTIAL MEDICAL SUPPLIES

•The president announced he is invoking the Defense Production Act.
•The president signed a memorandum directing his Administration to make general-use face masks available to healthcare workers.
•HHS announced it will be purchasing 500 million N95 respirators for the Strategic National Stockpile.
•The Department of Defense announced it will be providing 5 million respirator masks and 2,000 specialized ventilators to assist.
•The president signed legislation removing restrictions that prevented manufacturers from selling industrial masks – which can readily protect healthcare workers – directly to hospitals.


More:  https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/washington-secrets/list-74-actions-taken-by-trump-to-fight-virus-bolster-economy

@libertybele

[Right_in_Virginia]

Trump won't 'nationalize' companies under emergency law to produce medical supplies
Washington Times, Mar 22, 2020

President Trump said Sunday he gave the green light for Ford, General Motors and Tesla to make voluntarily ventilators and other medical devices needed to combat the coronavirus pandemic, as some state and local officials complained the administration still isn’t moving aggressively enough under an emergency law to ship desperately needed supplies to hospitals.

The president urged auto executives to “go for it” in the race to build more ventilators and other medical supplies for intensive-care units around the nation. But Mr. Trump said he has resisted ordering corporations under the Defense Production Act to produce the supplies, because it would smack of “nationalization” and such a step hasn’t been needed.

“We have tremendous numbers of companies making equipment,” Mr. Trump said at the White House.

“We’re a country not based on nationalizing their businesses. We have the threat of doing it, if we need it. But using it is actually a big deal.”

He said when he announced his intention to use the law last week, “it sent tremors through our business community.”

As an example of the current system working well, Mr. Trump pointed to Honeywell International Inc. boosting its output of N95 masks.

Presidential trade adviser Peter Navarro, who is coordinating the response from private industry, said the effort to date is “purely voluntary.”

“We’re seeing the greatest mobilization of the industrial base since World War II,” said White House trade adviser Peter Navarro. “The Defense Production Act has given me quiet leverage. We’re getting what we need without putting the heavy hand of government down.”

More:  https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2020/mar/22/trump-will-not-nationalize-companies-under-defense/

@libertybele

[libertybele]

@libertybele

That's what I thought -- thanks for the additional info. 

[XenaLee]

“We’re a country not based on nationalizing their businesses. We have the threat of doing it, if we need it. But using it is actually a big deal.”

Does anyone have ANY doubts .... that if the Obama/Soros/Hillary rats were in control of this nation right now.... they would use this 'excuse of a crisis' to nationalize everything they could.  It's what commies do, after all.

[PeteS in CA]

Well, the other side of the coin......
The medical industry is a trillion dollar a year industry, why have they not taken the responsibility to have supplies stocked up for an epidemic/pandemic?
...
My honest view of the medical industry is we are being played.. It is true we have an unprecedented mess on our hands right now but for decades the medical's have been yelling about this stuff but it appears have done nothing to back up their accusations.

@EdinVA, the "medical industry" should have billions of dollars tied up in warehouses full of materials with expiration dates? Was your "question" supposed to be serious?

Played? Seriously? Please explain how "Big Pharma" got Chinese people to cross coronavirus from animals to human. And how "Big Pharma" got the government of Wuhan and Hubei Province to sit on their hands while the virus was spreading. And how "Big Pharma" got the government of China to reassure the world via WHO that human-human transmission wasn't happening. And how "Big Pharma" got the government of China to allow people to travel outside of Hubei Province until 1/23. And how "Big Pharma" got governments across Europe to allow travel to and from China long after it was obvious that coronavirus was being spread worldwide from China.

[EdinVA]

@EdinVA, the "medical industry" should have billions of dollars tied up in warehouses full of materials with expiration dates? Was your "question" supposed to be serious?

Played? Seriously? Please explain how "Big Pharma" got Chinese people to cross coronavirus from animals to human. And how "Big Pharma" got the government of Wuhan and Hubei Province to sit on their hands while the virus was spreading. And how "Big Pharma" got the government of China to reassure the world via WHO that human-human transmission wasn't happening. And how "Big Pharma" got the government of China to allow people to travel outside of Hubei Province until 1/23. And how "Big Pharma" got governments across Europe to allow travel to and from China long after it was obvious that coronavirus was being spread worldwide from China.

@PeteS in CA
I would expect that face masks have a very long shelf life and are consumed regularly.  I had a short 3 hr visit to the ER a while back, $6000+, and when I pay $10 for a tongue depressor, they don't just order one 10 minutes before they use it on me...  FIFO, first in, first out, as the consumables are used thereby keeping the inventory fresh.

[PeteS in CA]

@PeteS in CA
I would expect that face masks have a very long shelf life and are consumed regularly.  ...  FIFO, first in, first out, as the consumables are used thereby keeping the inventory fresh.

The N95 masks I bought in September or October 2017 have a 08/2023 expiration date. I took Accounting 1A several decades ago, so I know what FIFO and LIFO mean. Does your comment mean, then, that you really expect the "medical industry" should be destroying 100s of millions or billions of dollars of materials every year, as long as it's done FIFO?

Why did you talk about the hospital's price of a tongue depressor? Go price tongue depressors at CVS or Walgreen's. I think you'll find a very large gap between the store's price - the "medical industry"'s price (plus store profit) - and what the ER charged. Whether what the ER charged was reasonable or unreasonable, don't sloppily conflate drugstore prices and hospital prices.

[roamer_1]

Well, the other side of the coin......
The medical industry is a trillion dollar a year industry, why have they not taken the responsibility to have supplies stocked up for an epidemic/pandemic?

Because like any other business, they get to pay taxes on inventory.

[PeteS in CA]

I'll save you a trip. A box of 100 is $5.00 on Amazon, https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000F76VBK?tag=duckduckgo-vivaldi-20&linkCode=osi&th=1&psc=1 , and a box of 500 is $10.85, https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0011Z82YO?tag=duckduckgo-vivaldi-20&linkCode=osi&th=1&psc=1 .

For sterile, it's $8.49 per box of 100, https://www.amazon.com/dp/B074HFYN7Z?tag=duckduckgo-vivaldi-20&linkCode=ogi&th=1&psc=1 .

[roamer_1]

I am just about all done with Cruz.

[DB]

I'll save you a trip. A box of 100 is $5.00 on Amazon, https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000F76VBK?tag=duckduckgo-vivaldi-20&linkCode=osi&th=1&psc=1 , and a box of 500 is $10.85, https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0011Z82YO?tag=duckduckgo-vivaldi-20&linkCode=osi&th=1&psc=1 .

For sterile, it's $8.49 per box of 100, https://www.amazon.com/dp/B074HFYN7Z?tag=duckduckgo-vivaldi-20&linkCode=ogi&th=1&psc=1 .

Hospitals have that special "insurance" rate making them cost just a bit more...

[DB]

I am just about all done with Cruz.

Got to be seen doing something.

I have a hard time believing the ventilator makers aren't doing everything in their power to make them as fast as they can already.

What the federal government could do is ease the regulatory burden involved in making them. Asking the manufactures what would help them get things done quicker. Providing quick short term loans to purchase materials quickly might help.

[EdinVA]

Because like any other business, they get to pay taxes on inventory.

I believe that the devices you use would be equipment and as such is depreciated on taxes.
You call it inventory if are selling it.

[roamer_1]

I believe that the devices you use would be equipment and as such is depreciated on taxes.
You call it inventory if are selling it.

Ventilators and respirators, perhaps, certainly not masks.

[roamer_1]

Got to be seen doing something.

Yeah alright, but not the WRONG thing. Tumpy's in the sweet spot on this one... Voluntary cooperation... A way for businesses to make a profit while helping... The only thing I disagree with in that is going to major industry instead of something distributed, which would not only be helping small companies, but distributed networks are more reliable and efficient, and less subject to failure (eggs in many baskets)

I have a hard time believing the ventilator makers aren't doing everything in their power to make them as fast as they can already.

Probably because they are actually being made in Asia, or many parts for them are... Corporations are not light enough on their feet to quick-change that stuff back to local resources.

What the federal government could do is ease the regulatory burden involved in making them. Asking the manufactures what would help them get things done quicker. Providing quick short term loans to purchase materials quickly might help.

That's right. Uncle Tumpy just has to announce the opportunity, and knock out the chocks and let er rip.

[EdinVA]

Yeah alright, but not the WRONG thing. Tumpy's in the sweet spot on this one... Voluntary cooperation... A way for businesses to make a profit while helping... The only thing I disagree with in that is going to major industry instead of something distributed, which would not only be helping small companies, but distributed networks are more reliable and efficient, and less subject to failure (eggs in many baskets)

Probably because they are actually being made in Asia, or many parts for them are... Corporations are not light enough on their feet to quick-change that stuff back to local resources.

That's right. Uncle Tumpy just has to announce the opportunity, and knock out the chocks and let er rip.

Great points... I would suggest that trying to energize a full nonexistent supply chain to include small business would expand the time line a lot.  Something to hammer out once the dust starts to settle.

[roamer_1]

Great points... I would suggest that trying to energize a full nonexistent supply chain to include small business would expand the time line a lot.  Something to hammer out once the dust starts to settle.

I think that's exactly the opposite. Small shops are used to quick changes and small lots. If you want to fire it up NOW, that's how to do it.

[jpsb]

I am just about all done with Cruz.

 

[truth_seeker]

Elon Musk, head guy of Tesla vehicles, batterries, , Boring machinery, and Space X launching space rockerts, volunteered to help build ventilators.

Old paradigm: from paper news technology

Let Drudge pick and link articles, post them on a 1990s technology forum site,

Let the site owner curate articles that wil generate emotion, insults, clicks

Then join your news bubble and argue away.

New Paradigm: from today's technology

2020 technology; online streaming live news, youtube-periscope-other live podcasts, AM radio-still great-real time, versus bubble-biases cable tv news .

I am interested in what Cruz has to say. I posted a podcast he did with Sen Barrasso(and Michael Knowles--I think from the Ben Shapiro group)

It went ccompletely ignored, in favor of outdated arguments.

Apple donating 11 million M95 masks.

[DB]

Probably because they are actually being made in Asia, or many parts for them are... Corporations are not light enough on their feet to quick-change that stuff back to local resources.

I would guess, but I don't know, that they could well be made here and/or outside of Asia. They are high dollar relatively low volume complex machines.

Just found this:

https://www.massdevice.com/how-are-u-s-based-ventilator-companies-doing/

[roamer_1]

I would guess, but I don't know, that they could well be made here and/or outside of Asia. They are high dollar relatively low volume complex machines.

Just found this:

https://www.massdevice.com/how-are-u-s-based-ventilator-companies-doing/

I don't know that they have to be complex machines. And it is not encouraging that most of the companies mentioned are manufacturing off-shore.