FEMA union urges Trump to use wartime-era law for more protective equipment

The wartime-era law, which gives the government more control during emergencies to direct industrial production, has been a point of contention between states and the Trump administration. While President Donald Trump has invoked the law in some instances during the coronavirus pandemic, the shortage of critically needed supplies has fueled calls to use the law in its full capacity.

The letter is the first time FEMA's union, which represents 3,000 employees, has joined that push.

"We will not flatten the curve unless every front-line worker in the public and private sector who has a job where telework is not available has access to appropriate personal protective equipment," states the letter, written by Steven Reaves, president of FEMA's union.

The letter is expected to be sent to lawmakers later Thursday.

FEMA, the agency leading the federal operation response, is on the frontlines of the country's response to coronavirus. FEMA's workforce has been deployed across the United States to support states and localities, and assist in the procurement and distribution of medical supplies, among other things.

But as FEMA personnel are sent out to provide assistance, they -- along with health care workers and first responders -- face the threat of dwindling supplies and the possibility of contracting the virus.

"The lack of transparency regarding PPE access and distribution at the national and local levels causes chaos, confusion and mismanagement at many agencies," Reaves writes.

"Employees in need of PPE are lacking adequate information to determine whether they will be protected and whether effective and appropriate PPE will be distributed through an evidence-based system rather than through an arbitrary and unfair process," he adds.

Trump has directed the secretaries of Health and Human Services and Homeland Security to use DPA authorities to require companies to "accept, perform and prioritize" federal contracts for ventilators and personal protective equipment, according to FEMA. The authorities have largely been used to ramp up production of ventilators, though FEMA also issued a "DPA enabled production" for millions of N95 respirators.

Still, shipments have yet to fulfill the dire shortage of supplies facing the nation. Lawmakers, for example, are still chasing down every lead to secure as many medical supplies as possible.

Rep. Andy Levin, a Michigan Democrat, told CNN that he is "hearing from nurses and doctors on the frontlines who are saying that they do not have enough, they are rationing, they are working with insufficient protection."

Levin said that in one instance, he heard that a former colleague's father, who owns an outerwear company, had access to a factory that produces FDA-approved PPE materials in China. He ended up connecting the source to Navy Rear Adm. John Polowczyk, who leads the federal government's supply chain task force.

As detailed in Reaves' letters, federal employees are also concerned about a lack of equipment.

FEMA has nearly 3,000 employees supporting the pandemic response out of a total 20,550 agency employees ready to respond to other emergencies should they occur, according to an agency advisory.

FEMA has made exceptions for personnel who might fall under the high-risk category or fear putting family members at risk of exposure.

People could always opt out of a deployment if there were a valid reason, but the latest exceptions indicate the severity of exposure.

Wherever employees are stationed to respond to the pandemic, Reaves underscored the importance of their protection and providing them the adequate equipment.

"If one of our employees dies because they didn't have PPE, I'm going to lose my cool," Reaves told CNN.