In a letter to Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra, Senators Rick Scott, JD Vance and Josh Hawley raised concerns over the state of the domestic supply chain for personal protective equipment (PPE) and other critical medical supplies. The senators also requested detailed information from HHS on its management of medical supply investments, stockpiles, and procurement processes.
The coronavirus pandemic revealed the depth of U.S. dependence on China for the production of medical supplies. President Trump took wide-ranging action to correct this imbalance, including the invocation of the Defense Production Act and the issuance of executive orders. President Biden and his administration have failed to maintain this strategic posture, resulting in idled factories, stalled projects, and laid-off American workers.
The senators write, “Without swift action by this administration, our nation could find itself once again dependent on our adversaries for essential goods.
“President Trump implemented policies to build up domestic PPE production capacity and onshore our nation’s medical supply chains. He invoked the Defense Production Act to convert manufacturing facilities for PPE production. He directed the International Development Finance Corporation to lend $100 million to finance domestic PPE production and strengthen medical supply chains. He invested billions in projects to expand production facilities, expanded the national strategic stockpile (SNS), established a ‘supply chain control tower’ to monitor production and sourcing of PPE throughout the private sector, and strengthened domestic procurement policies.
“The Biden administration inherited these policies and programs. Rather than build on the foundation established by President Trump, this administration has attempted to start from scratch—and failed …
“The Covid-19 pandemic was responsible for some of the gravest injustices and humiliations for the United States in recent memory: from lockdowns and school closures to mask and vaccine mandates. Such policies undermined the public trust in America’s leaders and institutions. Among the most humiliating was the fact that the communist nation responsible for unleashing this plague on the world was also profiting off supplying the tools to fight it. We must end our dependence on foreign supply chains and save ourselves from future humiliation.”
Read the full letter here. Read more from Breitbart here.
