President Trump invoked the Defense Production Act today, giving him the power to force non-defense companies to produce items that are in support of national defense.
Joe Driskill, Missouri Military Advocate in the state Department of Economic Development says, “The president, by law, has the power to force companies under the criminal penalties to switch over to the production of items that are important in national emergencies.
The specific focus was on getting companies that produce products that could be changed over to a priority product, in this case, durable medical equipment like ventilators and disposable medical supplies like masks and gowns and protective equipment to do so and they are apparently lacking that and are in short supply.”
One problem is that some of the products we do need are produced in China, which is not exporting at this time because of its own COVID-19 needs.
Stay tuned as we talk to companies in Missouri who can ramp up production to meet the nation’s needs.
