DAEC COVID-19 Update April 2: Actions from COVID-19 Industry Call

Colleagues:

Provided below is a one-pager on the Joint Acquisition Task Force and the latest links from OSD .

DCMA’s recent commercial item determination

JATF portal (an overview of the JATF).

DoD’s “how to help” page (this has an overview of what DoD is looking for in terms of assistance and has a link to a “capability” form, where companies can describe what they can do to help in the fight against COVID).

Joint Acquisition Task Force Fact Sheet

On March 25, 2020, Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment Ms. Ellen Lord established the COVID-19 Joint Acquisition Task Force (JATF). Led by the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense, Acquisition Enablers, Ms. Stacy Cummings, the JATF team includes acquisition professionals from the Military Departments and DoD Agencies, and is synchronizing and supporting the acquisition execution of DoD’s COVID-19 response to the interagency (Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)) for medical resources.

The JATF aligns with the broader DoD COVID-19 task force, and through it serves as the single-entry point to the DoD acquisition enterprise to address the interagency’s requests for acquisition assistance. The JATF leverages DoD authorities, tools, and skillsets to assist in meeting the Nation’s demand signal as defined by DoD and the interagency.

The main goals of the JATF include:

• Coordinating and consolidating supply information for medical resources from the Services and DoD Agencies to quickly respond to demand from the interagency.
• Utilizing a supply chain capability to use data to forecast gaps and identify opportunities for the industrial base to provide medical resources.
• Prioritize solutions from industry to connect viable suppliers to the interagency, including prioritization of efforts appropriate for the use of the Defense Production Act.

• The Defense Production Act Title IIIwhich provides the President broad authority to ensure the timely availability of essential domestic industrial resources to support national defense and homeland security requirements through the use of highly tailored economic incentives.
• Utilizing the DoD’s Adaptive Acquisition Framework and the skilled and experienced acquisition workforce to provide advice or exercise rapid contracting mechanisms, such as Other Transaction Authority (OTA), to quickly award contracts to deliver products and supplies;
• Research and development capabilities to leverage non-traditional manufacturing capabilities (e.g. additive manufacturing) to produce new items; and
• Organic industrial capabilities at DoD labs and depots to meet demand.

About the authors

Keith Webster

Keith Webster, president of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Defense and Aerospace Council, guides the focus of the council to strengthen the U.S. defense and aerospace industries by influencing domestic and international policy on behalf of its members.

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