The law is so broad in places that it is sometimes referred to as a “commandeering” authority. Lawyers prefer to say the president would act at the zenith of his authority under the paradigm presented in Justice Jackson’s concurrence in the Supreme Court’s landmark Youngstown case. But its use is not as extraordinary as some suggest, and it is not commandeering. The Defense Department alone uses the prioritization authority some 300,000 times a year, while the government uses Title III incentives 20 to 30 times per year. Although the allocation authority has not been used since the Cold War, some civilian airliners and freighters remain allocated for the Civil Reserve Air Fleet. Nor does exercise of the prioritization and allocation authority equate to state ownership. Under the act, corporations are paid fair market value for their products. Any actual “commandeering” of production would require just compensation under the Fifth Amendment’s Takings Clause. Moreover, price controls under the D.P.A. require a joint resolution of Congress signed into law by the president.

The D.P.A. also contains built-in safeguards. A majority of its provisions expire every five years. That is why it has been reauthorized by Congress over 50 times since its passage in 1950. Congress can decline to do so or do so with amendments when the act comes up for reauthorization in 2025, or sooner. The law also gives federal courts jurisdiction over disputes including the power to determine and award fair market value and forbid the executive branch from using the statute improperly. If a business feels the government is overreaching or unrealistic in its timelines, it can seek relief in court and do so on an emergency basis. Finally, the government reports annually on the D.P.A.’s use: Not only will the Congress know how the act is used, the public will, too.

What about liability? The first answer is to make equipment that works. The second answer is Title 42, giving the secretary of health and human services authority to determine that the coronavirus pandemic “constitutes a public health emergency,” recommend use of “covered countermeasures” to fight the pandemic and in doing so grant broad protection from liability under both state and federal law, except in the case of “willful misconduct.” There are other solutions as well, like special legislation, indemnification clauses to contracts, the government contract defense and, if all else fails, waivers.

Here’s the big picture: In times of crisis, when lives are at stake, lawyers and policymakers are supposed to find solutions to problems — to get to yes with honor and within the law — and not to create obstacles.

State and local authorities are imploring the federal government to use the authority it has to secure our medical supply chain. So far, the administration appears to have responded like a parent doling out candy to a child: one piece at a time. This is an “all hands on deck” moment, not merely to flatten the curve but to leap ahead of the curve. America was once the arsenal of democracy; the D.P.A. can help make us the arsenal of public health.