The U.S. House of Representatives passed legislation this week that seeks to improve the Strategic National Stockpile and reduce America’s dependence on foreign sources of critical medical supplies.
The bill – Strengthening America’s Strategic National Stockpile Act (H.R. 7574) – focuses on improving America’s Strategic National Stockpile (SNS) and boosting domestic manufacturing of those supplies. Specifically, it would increase the manufacturing of critical supplies like personal protective equipment in the U.S. by creating a $500 million pilot program allowing the SNS to partner directly with manufacturers to expand domestic production capacity. It would also enable the stockpile to sell items out of its inventory to other federal agencies as a way to make more efficient use of Congressional funding and ensuring that expiring items do not go to waste. Further, it would require the administration to report to Congress on all requests for stockpile supplies during the pandemic and the response to each request.
In addition, the bill would take steps to ensure taxpayers are properly compensated when companies profit off of SNS products. Finally, it would put more resources behind the SNS, raising annual authorized funding for its operations from $610 million to $705 million for fiscal years 2020 through 2023.
“This unprecedented pandemic has demonstrated the importance of reinforcing our Strategic National Stockpile,” Rep. Susan Brooks (R-IN), one of the bill’s sponsors, said. “We need to ensure it is capable of responding to a diverse range of threats, including disasters with long-term, sustained demand like COVID-19. My colleagues and I have spent countless hours communicating directly with stakeholders involved in the stockpile to find ways to increase its effectiveness and sustainability. Our Nation needs to fundamentally reimagine how we prepare for pandemics. From expanding State-level stockpiles to reinforcing our domestic production capabilities for critical supplies, this bill is an important step towards that goal. Congress must also commit to significantly increasing funding for these programs in a long-term, sustainable way.”
The bipartisan bill was co-sponsored by Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI).
“This bipartisan package came directly from my experience trying to get PPE for our frontline workers, and was drafted to ensure we are never again dependent on foreign suppliers for equipment we need to keep Americans safe in a crisis,” Slotkin said. “I’m thrilled that it passed with unanimous, bipartisan support in the House. During the heat of the COVID-19 crisis, when Michigan and other states called on the Strategic National Stockpile for urgently needed masks, gloves, and other protective gear, what we got was nowhere close to what we needed. After fighting to get masks from China to hospitals here in my district, I introduced this bipartisan legislation to reduce our dependence on foreign suppliers, improve our ability to protect our frontline workers, and help make more critical medical supplies here in America.”
The bill now moves to the Senate for consideration.