Graham Flanagan: You're looking at the inside
of the Strategic National Stockpile.
All around the country,
in secret locations,
there's an unknown number of giant warehouses
like this one
filled with billions of dollars' worth
of emergency medical supplies.
And you might think the stockpile could be the solution
to get these supplies to the front lines
of the coronavirus pandemic,
where healthcare professionals desperately need them.
But it's not that simple.
Reporter: President Trump is facing questions
about the role of the nation's stockpile.
Reporter: Why not just release that stockpile now?
Donald Trump: We're not an ordering clerk.
Reporter: The Strategic National Stockpile
is nearly depleted.
Flanagan: On April 8,
the Department of Health and Human Services
said that about 90% of the personal protective equipment
in the stockpile has already been distributed
to state and local governments.
So, what happened?
Why wasn't the stockpile ready for the coronavirus?
We reached out to spokespeople
at the Strategic National Stockpile,
and they declined to make anybody
available for an interview,
but they did respond to our questions via email.
According to a spokesperson,
"The stockpile was...designed
and resourced to address localized events
like natural disasters
such as hurricanes or terrorist attacks,
rather than nationwide pandemic events."
It was formed in 1999 under President Bill Clinton.
The series of secret warehouses
reportedly contain about $8 billion worth
of vaccines, medicine,
protective gear, ventilators,
and other kinds of medical equipment,
which should come as a relief amid the coronavirus.
Reporter: Hospitals across the country
are desperate the find the gowns and the gloves
and the face shields.
Flanagan: But while the stockpile exists
to distribute items like these in a time of crisis,
it doesn't appear to have the inventory needed
to satisfy the volume of requests.
Andrew Cuomo: It's like being on eBay
with 50 other states
bidding on a ventilator.
Flanagan: States running low on supplies
can make a request to the stockpile,
which then has to be approved
by the Department of Health and Human Services
before anything can be deployed.
Jared Kushner: We're asking people to be resourceful
inside their states before they come
to the federal government.
Flanagan: President Trump's senior adviser
and son-in-law, Jared Kushner,
said that some states are requesting supplies
they may not need at the moment.
Kushner: One congressman got a call from his local hospital
saying, "I need 250 ventilators."
And he said, "Well, you don't have
a COVID patient within four counties,
why do you want 250 ventilators?"
And he says, "Well, we just want to be safe,
we're very nervous right now."
So what you have all over the country
is a lot of people are asking for things
that they don't necessarily need at the moment.
Flanagan: Even when stockpile supplies
are approved to be deployed,
there have still been some issues.
Gavin Newsom: The 170 ventilators
that came from the national stockpile
were not working.
Flanagan: Like when California Gov. Gavin Newsom
said that 170 ventilators shipped from the stockpile
showed up damaged.
And thousands more in storage
are reportedly unfit for use.
So, how is the stockpile adjusting to these issues,
if at all,
to make a significant impact on the fight against
the COVID-19 pandemic?
In a statement to Business Insider,
the spokesperson said,
Reporter: The Department of Health and Human Services
now has a contract with GM
to manufacture 30,000 ventilators
for the national stockpile.
Flanagan: On April 8,
federal officials announced that GM
will replenish the stockpile's
depleted inventory of ventilators
in a contract worth about $489 million.
The COVID-19 crisis is the biggest test
that the Strategic National Stockpile has faced so far.
Has it already failed?
Or is it too early to tell?
As part of the coronavirus aid package,
$16 billion was allocated to build up the stockpile
with critical supplies.
So with help on the way from the private sector,
along with billions in new funds from Congress,
the stockpile's effectiveness in a crisis
will continue to be tested.