U.S. Reps. Bill Pascrell, Jr. (D-NJ-09) and Patrick McHenry (R-NC-10) today re-introduced their American PPE Supply Chain Integrity Act. As the United States has contended with devastating shortages since the beginning of the pandemic, this bipartisan legislation will help end America’s over-reliance on personal protective equipment (PPE) and medical supplies from China and other foreign nations. Expanding U.S. capacity will ensure that hospitals and frontline workers have access to a plentiful supply of high-quality PPE.

“The pandemic has fully exposed America’s over-reliance on personal protective equipment made in other countries. We are especially dependent on medical supplies made in China, where COVID-19 originated and whose totalitarian secrecy deepened the world crisis,” said Rep. Pascrell, who has led efforts in Congress to reassess American supply chains. “Our reliance on non-American-made PPE crippled our response to COVID from the start. We must use this painful lesson to change our behavior now. Our bipartisan American PPE Supply Chain Integrity Act will ensure we are investing in the best tools at our disposal by making our own PPE right here in America. Encouraging production of medical supplies within our borders will help our economy, create jobs, guarantee higher-grade equipment, and save American lives. We cannot wait until the next pandemic to act.”

“From the beginning of the pandemic, our hospitals and frontline healthcare workers have worked tirelessly to save lives and keep Americans healthy,” said Rep. McHenry. “Their continued battle against the coronavirus is why we must return production of PPE to the United States and end our over-reliance on Chinese-made PPE. This legislation will address the failures of the current crisis while incentivizing future investments in high quality PPE made by American companies. I am proud to introduce a bipartisan bill that helps to ensure the long-term protection of our hospitals and frontline healthcare workers.”

The American PPE Supply Chain Integrity Act implements the Berry Amendment standard of “100 percent of a product that is grown, reprocessed, reused, or produced in the United States” for the purchase of PPE by Department of Defense, Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Homeland Security, and the Department of Veterans Affairs. It also resets the contract level for the Berry Amendment from $250,000 to $150,000 to ensure more PPE is made in America.