(a) Section 201 of Executive Order 13603 (3 CFR, 2012 Comp., p. 225) delegates the President's authority under section 101 of the Defense Production Act to require acceptance and priority performance of contracts and orders (other than contracts of employment) to promote the national defense over performance of any other contracts or orders, and to allocate materials, services, and facilities as deemed necessary or appropriate to promote the national defense to the following agencies. Essentially, this allows the following agencies to place priority on the performance of contracts for items and materials under their jurisdiction as required for national defense initiatives including emergency preparedness activities:
(1) The Secretary of Agriculture with respect to food resources, food resource facilities, livestock resources, veterinary resources, plant health resources, and the domestic distribution of farm equipment and commercial fertilizer;
(2) The Secretary of Energy with respect to all forms of energy;
(3) The Secretary of Health and Human Services with respect to health resources;
(4) The Secretary of Transportation with respect to all forms of civil transportation;
(5) The Secretary of Defense with respect to water resources; and
(6) The Secretary of Commerce with respect to all other materials, services, and facilities, including construction materials.
(b) Section 202 of Executive Order 13603 specifies that the priorities and allocations authority may be used only to support programs that have been determined in writing as necessary or appropriate to promote the national defense by:
(1) The Secretary of Defense with respect to military production and construction, military assistance to foreign nations, military use of civil transportation, stockpiles managed by the Department of Defense, space, and directly related activities;
(2) The Secretary of Energy with respect to energy production and construction, distribution and use, and directly related activities; or
(3) The Secretary of Homeland Security with respect to all other national defense programs, including civil defense and continuity of Government.