U.S. Representative Matt Cartwright (PA-08) today announced that he will co-sponsor five pieces of legislation to bolster the American medical supply chain amid a nationwide coronavirus case surge that threatens to cause another shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE).
The coronavirus pandemic has exposed the United States’ heavy reliance on China for medical equipment. The latest annual report from the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission showed that U.S. imports of Chinese medical equipment increased by 78 percent between 2010 and 2018. In that same time period, U.S. imports of Chinese pharmaceuticals increased by 76 percent.
“We can put the power of American industry and manufacturing to work on producing the lifesaving supplies needed to keep up the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. An overreliance on China and global supply chains for these items is a threat to our public health and national security,” Cartwright said. “We saw the risks early on in this crisis as state and local officials scoured the globe, often competing with one another, to get the equipment they needed. Now, we’re seeing it again as PPE supplies run low, and it’s unacceptable. These bills will enable American workers to help protect American lives.”
Cartwright is supporting the following five bills to promote the health, safety and security of the American people:
- H.R. 6879, Buy American Medical Supply Chain Act: This bill would help reduce America’s dependence on foreign sources for critical medical supplies and equipment by strengthening “Buy American” provisions on the Strategic National Stockpile and invest in surge manufacturing capacity. It is similar to how the Department of Defense protects the supply chain for vital military supplies.
- H.R. 6670, Prescription for American Drug Independence Act: This bill would establish a committee of experts on drug-supply issues, and convene a symposium to recommend strategies for ending U.S. dependence on foreign manufacturing of critical drugs.
- H.R. 6930, MADE in America Act: This bill would incentivize domestic manufacturing of drugs, active pharmaceutical ingredients (API), PPE and diagnostics. This will be achieved through a new tax credit for manufacturers in certain American Opportunity Zones.
- H.R. 4866, National Centers of Excellence in Continuous Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Act: This bill would allow the FDA to partner with universities across the country to designate them as National Centers of Excellence in Continuous Pharmaceutical Manufacturing. The designated universities would work with FDA and industry to further develop and implement continuous manufacturing technology and authorizes $80 million in funding to support the effort. These partnerships will play a key role in creating a framework for the widescale adoption of this pioneering technology, which will limit drug shortages in the future and help spur a new generation of 21st century manufacturing jobs right here in the United States.
- H.R. 6708, Securing America's Medicine Cabinet Act: This bill would establish a formal pathway for the FDA to grant expedited review of drug manufacturing technology if the drug manufacturer demonstrates that the technology is likely to prevent or resolve a drug shortage or is likely to promote innovative approaches to manufacturing. The bill also authorizes $100 million to create National Centers of Excellence for Advanced Pharmaceutical Manufacturing with the goal of developing and manufacturing more active pharmaceutical ingredients within the U.S. These new centers will utilize public-private partnerships between higher education institutions and private sector entities to discover innovative new pharmaceutical processes and develop new workforce training efforts.
