Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senator Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) joined U.S. Senators Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), Chris Coons (D-Del.), and John Cornyn (R-Texas) to introduce the Medical Supply Chain Resiliency Act. This bipartisan legislation would bolster the United States’ ability to engage in trade negotiations with partners – such as Costa Rica, Japan, and the United Kingdom – to ensure the safe and efficient delivery of critical medical goods and services to U.S. patients and providers.
“America’s medical supply chains rely heavily on China, posing risks to U.S. national security and public health,” said Bennet. “Our bipartisan bill will address this vulnerability by authorizing the President to deepen relationships with our trading partners.”
“The Medical Supply Chain Resiliency Act is a critical step toward ensuring that America’s healthcare providers have reliable access to the essential supplies they need,” said Tillis. “By strengthening trade partnerships with our allies and expanding domestic manufacturing, we can enhance our nation’s preparedness for future health challenges. I’m proud to support this bipartisan effort to reinforce our medical supply chains and protect public health.”
“During the pandemic, the U.S. faced severe shortages of medical supplies due to overreliance on foreign adversaries like China,” said Cornyn. “This legislation would allow the U.S. to engage in trade negotiations with trusted allies for medical goods and services, helping ensure we’re better prepared to respond to future global health crises.”
“Life-threatening shortages of testing kits, drugs, and masks during the COVID-19 pandemic showed us just how fragile our medical supply chains are. If we are caught off-guard like we were during COVID once again, more Americans will die,” said Coons. “Working with our most trusted trading partners to make our supply chains more resilient will strengthen our response to future public health emergencies while ensuring health care providers have access to essential medical products and patients have access to life-saving care.”
The COVID-19 pandemic exposed the vulnerability of the U.S. medical supply chain, disproportionately undermining health care providers’ access to desperately-needed treatments and equipment. By expanding U.S. engagement with our trusted partners around the world, this bill would strengthen supply chain resiliency and safeguard against future crises.
In 2021, Bennet and Tillis introduced bipartisan legislation to improve the Strategic National Stockpile and strengthen the domestic manufacturing of critical medical supplies to ensure the U.S. is better prepared for future public health emergencies. Additionally, Bennet and U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy (R-La.) led the Americas Act, which would strengthen U.S. supply chains of critical goods by deepening trade with and investment in Latin America and the Caribbean.
The text of the bill is available HERE.