President Biden has repeatedly resorted to the Defense Production Act (DPA), a decades-old law that gives him broad authority to increase the production of critical items in a national emergency.
The DPA has been a point of response to the pandemic since the Trump administration, but Biden has used it for other uses. More recently, Biden invoked it five times to increase domestic production of goods used to make solar panels.
The move was hailed by environmental groups and climate-minded lawmakers as the kind of bold action needed to tackle climate change, at a time when Biden’s legislative climate agenda is stalled in Congress.
At the same time, it provoked some criticism from Republicans, with Senator Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) Accusing Biden of abusing a law that was initially passed in response to the Korean War. of defense. The policy, first authorized in 1950, allows the president and the executive to order private companies to concentrate on the production of a necessary good.
“When you walk out of a national security space or something like a pandemic response, people will say more,‘ Is it appropriate? said Jerry McGinn, executive director of the Government Procurement Center at George Mason University’s School of Business.
“Isn’t it strange that Republicans criticize a Democrat or vice versa. But authority is very clear, it has to be essential for national defense, and are solar panels essential for national defense? So here it is. where we have the debate on that, ”he said.
The White House said invoking the DPA for solar panels was an important first step toward the administration’s clean energy targets when asked how it would not affect the increase in electricity tariffs for the summer.
“The steps we are taking today respond to an urgent need to grow the national clean energy economy and strengthen US energy security. They are part of the president’s multifaceted approach to accelerating the transition to a cleaner future. , a clean energy made right here in the United States, “White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters Monday.
Biden also invoked the law to speed up the production of materials used to make infant formula in the midst of national scarcity, after receiving bipartisan calls from Congress to do so. Earlier this year, Biden used it to increase the production of electric vehicle batteries, as the administration seeks to further boost its clean energy agenda.
Former President Trump has been criticized for not moving fast enough to invoke the DPA at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic to force the production of medical equipment. He finally used it in March 2020 to order General Motors to increase the production of life-saving fans despite calls from the business community not to use emergency powers to target the private sector.
Biden has been more aggressive with his use of the law.
In his first day at the White House, Biden signed a comprehensive executive order for federal agencies to use the DPA to increase the supply of protective equipment, vaccines and testing for COVID-19 and other supplies needed to fight the pandemic. .
The administration regularly used the law to increase the speed tests at home, which according to the White House count increased from 24 million last August to more than 300 million in December.
“It’s an incredibly important authority and the pandemic showed its power in a very positive way. They were able to use it to hire all sorts of things. It didn’t directly affect the development of the vaccine, but in terms of masks. and the production, it had a big impact, “McGinn said.
McGinn also said that while the pandemic put the DPA in the spotlight, presidents previously also used it with great effect but with less publicity.
Former President Obama in 2012 called on the DPA to accelerate the development of biofuels for military and commercial use, a fact that was criticized by Republicans at the time as a move to boost its own green energy agenda.
The wartime measure was used by former President George W. Bush in 2003 to supply GPS receivers to the British military during the Iraq war, and Bush and former President Clinton used it in the early days. of 2001 to ensure that natural gas emergency supplies flow to California Utilities to prevent power outages.
The president may also delegate DPA authorities to agency heads, such as in 2017 when the Federal Emergency Management Agency used it for manufactured housing, food and bottled water, and post-hurricane restoration projects in Puerto Rico. Rico.
McGinn warned that widespread use of the DPA could be inappropriate and make the law the subject of partisan fights.
The problem, since the pandemic, people have recognized, ‘Wow, this DPA is something,’ “he said. it becomes more political and can create problems for future use.
“That’s the biggest concern I would have. You don’t want to undermine something that’s very, very effective using it where it’s not appropriate.”
The DPA was last authorized to have 2019 defense policy legislation and will expire in 2025, which means lawmakers will have to renew it again in the coming years. Toomey suggested Monday that Congress should restrict the law if the Biden administration continues to use it for non-defense actions.
In his action Monday, Biden ordered the Department of Energy to use the DPA to boost domestic production of solar panel parts, building insulation, heat pumps, power grid infrastructure and equipment used to produce generated fuels. with clean energy.
Jean Su, director of the Center for Biological Diversity’s left-wing energy justice program, said the actions would stimulate investment and manufacturing of these specific products.
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He said Biden could also use the DPA to stimulate the growth of the electric transportation sector by targeting charging stations for electric vehicles, electric buses and other green modes of transportation.
“The announcement is a game changer. At the macro level, we’re seeing him really flex his muscles over his executive powers, which he hasn’t done yet,” Su said. “This is a big sea change in terms of its approach to climate.”
Rachel Frazin and Zack Budryk contributed.