President Trump signed an Executive Order on Preventing Hoarding of Health and Medical Resources to Respond to the Spread of COVID-19 (EO) on March 23, 2020. The EO delegates presidential authority under the Defense Production Act (DPA)1 to prevent hoarding of health and medical resources necessary to respond to the COVID-19 outbreak to Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) Alex Azar. This delegation of authority includes the power to identify “scarce materials or materials the supply of which would be threatened” by hoarding and authority to gather information about how such supplies are distributed throughout the nation. Attorney General Barr’s remarks at the press conference announcing the EO indicate that the Department of Justice (DOJ) will cooperate with HHS to identify instances of hoarding and price gouging and bring enforcement actions where warranted.
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