The U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday voted 397-22 to approve a bipartisan bill that aims to reform how the Strategic National Stockpile (SNS) is administered and managed. The legislation now heads to the U.S. Senate for consideration.
The Strengthening America’s Strategic National Stockpile Act of 2021, H.R. 3635, would make numerous SNS changes, according to the text of the bill, which was introduced on May 28 by bill sponsor U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) and lead original cosponsor U.S. Rep. Richard Hudson (R-NC).
“This afternoon, the House overwhelmingly passed my bipartisan bill to revamp our Strategic National Stockpile,” Rep. Slotkin tweeted yesterday. “It’s a big step forward to make sure that when a crisis strikes, the U.S. is never dependent on foreign suppliers to keep Americans safe.”
Slotkin, who said she has been working on H.R. 3635 since the COVID-19 pandemic reached America, wants to ensure the SNS is stronger and better able to support Americans during public health emergencies.
“Take yourself back to a year and a half ago, COVID was upon us, it was April 2020 and we were desperately looking for masks and gloves and gowns,” the congresswoman said in a video filmed outside on Capitol Hill following the House vote. “We asked the federal government to open up the Strategic National Stockpile. We had no idea what to expect. We had no idea what we were getting. It came to us. It wasn’t enough.”
Some of the SNS resources were outdated; some were even molding, Slotkin said, noting that the legislation would make the process much more transparent and “help keep things more fresh inside the stockpile.”
Additionally, the bill would set up a pilot program to allow American manufacturers to make all of the nation’s needed PPE, said Rep. Hudson. “Strengthening our PPE stockpile, domestic manufacturing, supply chains, and stance toward China has never been more important for our economy and our national security,” he tweeted.
The congressman added that the bill is also part of his work to prepare for the next pandemic. “I look forward to continuing to advance this bipartisan bill until it is law,” said Hudson.
If enacted, H.R. 3635 specifically would authorize the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to transfer supplies from the stockpile to any federal departments or agencies, under certain conditions, through Sept. 30, 2024. HHS would be required to ensure that the contents of the SNS remained in working order and could enter into maintenance service contracts to fulfill that requirement, according to the congressional record bill summary.
As part of its management of the stockpile, HHS also would be required to establish and maintain domestic reserves of certain supplies, including by entering into cooperative agreements or partnerships to access facilities and equipment to produce the supplies, the summary says, and authorizes such agreements and partnerships through Sept. 30, 2024.
Additionally, the bill temporarily authorizes HHS to award grants to states for maintaining stockpiles of certain equipment and supplies for use during public health emergencies, and requires the department to develop transparent processes for using and distributing stockpile supplies, among other provisions.
“There’s no way to predict when a global health crisis like the COVID-19 pandemic is going to occur,” said Rep. Diana DeGette (D-CO), one of the bill’s 15 original cosponsors. “That’s why it’s vital that we remain vigilant and ready at all times.”
“The time to prepare for the next public health crisis is now and this legislation will ensure our Strategic National Stockpile has the resources we need to respond effectively and efficiently to such emergencies when they arise,” she added.
The Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee is currently considering its version of the bill, the same-named S. 1974, which was introduced in June by U.S. Sens. Maggie Hassan (D-NH) and Bill Cassidy (R-LA).
“When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, it was immediately clear that our country was unprepared to meet the magnitude of the crisis,” Hassan said. “This failure must never happen again.”