America should use a wartime law to mobilize industry against the pandemic

The president was right to sign an executive order this week invoking his authority under the 1950s-era Defense Production Act, or DPA, which can be used to mobilize production of health and medical resources needed to go to war against the new coronavirus.

However, it would be a significant missed opportunity — indeed, public policy malpractice — if this broad and flexible set of powers and tools are put on the shelf, as the president has suggested, only to be used “if we need to” for a “worst case scenario.”

https://www.defensenews.com/opinion/commentary/2020/03/20/america-should-use-a-wartime-law-to-mobilize-industry-against-the-pandemic/