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New infrastructure bill could help America’s medical manufacturers

After much debate, Congress recently passed a massive “Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.” Despite all the political wrangling, the final package includes something known as the “Make PPE in America Act.” This bipartisan legislation, introduced by U.S. Senators Rob Portman (R-OH) and Gary Peters (D-MI), could prove groundbreaking–since it will help to rebuild America’s domestic production of personal protective equipment (PPE).

At the start of the COVID pandemic, Americans saw firsthand the problems that come from the nation’s over-reliance on imports. As the pandemic took hold, countries halted exports of essential drugs and healthcare supplies. That left America’s hospitals scrambling to address shortages of basic medicines and personal protective equipment.

Members of Congress recognized the pitfalls of such import reliance. And in response, Senators Portman and Peters introduced the “Make PPE in America Act” to help bring healthcare manufacturing back to U.S. shores.

The legislation sponsored by Portman and Peters will ensure that future federal PPE purchases include only items made in the U.S.–and from American-made materials. This is similar to America’s longstanding Berry Amendment, which requires the Department of Defense to buy American-made goods whenever possible.

Restoring America’s capacity to manufacture PPE–everything from face masks and hand sanitizer to medical supplies–is critical to keeping the nation’s hospitals functioning in times of crisis. The “Make PPE in America Act” will require a wide range of federal agencies–including Homeland Security, Health and Human Services, and the Veterans Administration–to purchase American-made PPE. The bill also requires federal agencies to issue long-term contracts to U.S. manufacturers.

All of this will help the various U.S. companies that sprang into action when the pandemic first unfolded. More than 20 new U.S. companies emerged to help manufacture urgently needed face masks. Since that time, these companies have churned out millions of high-quality face masks while employing thousands of U.S. workers.

More recently, though, America’s mask producers have been laying off workers. That’s because China has jumped into the face mask business, and is exporting low-quality masks to U.S. consumers. In fact, an estimated 70 percent of Chinese masks fail to meet proper safety standards.

Requiring federal agencies to buy American-made masks and other PPE will help to protect the investments these companies have made to locate new production in the U.S. And it will also ensure a steady, ongoing supply of quality PPE from domestic producers throughout the country.

As a next step, Congress should ensure that Americans have access to safe medicines. Over the past 30 years, much of America’s drug manufacturing has moved offshore, including the production of generic medications that comprise 90 percent of America’s daily needs. As a result, thousands of drugs are made with ingredients produced only in China.

As with PPE, U.S. hospitals ran into shortages of imported drugs once the pandemic started. Congress should support America’s domestic drug manufacturers by establishing mandates similar to PPE that require federal agencies to buy safe, quality medicines from U.S. producers.

Doing so could help to bring back another key healthcare industry. It’s time to rebuild America’s medical manufacturing before the next crisis emerges.

Michael Stumo is CEO of the Coalition for a Prosperous America (CPA). Follow him at @michael_stumo

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