Representatives August Pfluger (TX-11), Brad R. Wenstrup, D.P.M. (OH-02), Blake D. Moore (UT-01), and Mark Green, M.D. (TN-07) have issued a Request for Information (RFI) to gather input on fortifying domestic medical supply chains.
"Securing our nation’s medical supply chains is not just a matter of economic importance, it’s a matter of national security. Congress must prioritize revitalizing our domestic medical supply chains to eliminate our reliance on adversaries, like China, for essential medical supplies," stated Congressman Pfluger. "I look forward to hearing from industry experts and stakeholders whose feedback will guide us in developing solutions that strengthen domestic manufacturing and safeguard the health of the American people."
The RFI seeks contributions from independent experts, stakeholders, industry leaders, and coalition groups to inform congressional efforts aimed at strengthening U.S. medical supply chains.
Building on previous initiatives from the 118th Congress, the House recently passed the BIOSECURE Act. This legislation aims to protect American patient data and taxpayer dollars by prohibiting federal contracts with foreign biotechnology companies of concern.
U.S. supply chains must be independent of foreign adversaries; reliance on entities such as the Chinese Communist Party for genomic testing or basic pharmaceutical ingredients and Russia for fine chemical production is seen as a vulnerability. The BIOSECURE Act represents an initial step towards addressing these concerns but underscores the need for comprehensive measures to secure national health by bolstering domestic medical manufacturing.
The RFI invites feedback on several issues including economic obstacles in bringing operations onshore, lessons learned in diversifying supply chains, prioritization of medical products needing onshoring or diversification, dependencies on foreign suppliers, barriers to domestic production such as regulatory challenges, upstream inputs into API production sourced from adversarial countries, public-private partnerships for accelerating pharmaceutical manufacturing onshoring, policies promoting alternative approaches like near-shoring and friend-shoring, and long-term strategies for sustaining competitive domestic pharmaceutical manufacturing.
Responses are requested by October 4, 2024, via Wenstrup.RFI@mail.house.gov.
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