| A senior State Department official in a briefing with reporters on Tuesday said the U.S. is asking countries if they have excess materials or excess capacity to manufacture key items needed to battle the spread of the virus. The State Department has set up a “tracker” to organize which countries have available supplies, and the information is sent to other agencies, like the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Trump has faced pressure from members of Congress and hospital groups to use his authorities under the Defense Production Act amid reports of a shortage of medical supplies like protective masks, testing kits and ventilators. FEMA Administrator Peter Gaynor said in a CNN interview Tuesday morning that the agency would use the law to secure testing kits, but the agency later said it was able to secure the kits without it. FEMA has also come under fire from New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D), who said the state needs 30,000 ventilators to meet the demands for the expected number of patients. He said FEMA has provided only 400 of the critical breathing machines. |
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National Accounts Today – Episode 6 – Scott Pecore