AG Kaul leads call for Pres. Trump to boost health care supply production

MADISON, Wis. (CBS 58) – A coalition of attorneys general led by Wisconsin’s Josh Kaul is urging President Trump to take more steps in helping states attain equipment needed to fight the COVID-19 outbreak.

President Trump has so far not used the full weight of the Defense Production Act to amplify the production of vital equipment like masks and ventilators.

The Defense Production Act allows the federal government to mandate that private manufacturers fill federal orders for medical equipment before any other. It also gives the federal government power over distribution and allocation of those supplies, however that has not happened yet.

“Over the next week or two it’s certainly possible, and frankly likely, that we’re all going to need a lot more resources,” Kaul told CBS 58 in a remote interview. “The faster we can have a coherent, coordinated federal effort making sure that we produce those resources so that we can get them to medical providers and first responders around the country, the better off we’re going be as we fight this.”

Kaul and the other attorneys general sent a letter to the president to move quickly to address the issue.

“We are calling on the president to use all of the authority that he has to get those resources produced as quickly as possible and that it’s sent to the states as quickly as possible so that we are prepared as we can be to take on this virus,” Kaul said.

Overall, Kaul said that the federal response has been “inadequate” up to this point but that it can change with action from the White House.

Read AG Kaul's fuller letter below: