Bill Summary
This legislation, called the "Commission on America's Medical Security Act", aims to address the United States' reliance on critical drugs and devices that are sourced or manufactured outside of the country. It requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to commission a report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine within 60 days of the Act's enactment to assess and evaluate this dependence. The report will analyze the supply chain of these critical drugs and devices, potential risks to public health and national security, information gaps, and the economic impact of increasing domestic manufacturing. Based on this assessment, the report will provide recommendations to improve the resiliency and accessibility of these products, including promoting supply chain redundancy, encouraging domestic manufacturing, and improving planning for public health emergencies. The National Academies will consult with relevant stakeholders and consider input from various government agencies and healthcare organizations in conducting the report. The Act defines "device" and "drug" according to the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act.
Possible Impacts
1. The legislation could potentially impact the availability and accessibility of critical drugs and devices for individuals who rely on them for their health, as it aims to assess the dependence of the United States on drugs and devices manufactured outside of the country. This could result in potential shortages or delays in receiving necessary medical treatment for some individuals.
2. The legislation may also have an economic impact, particularly for those who work in the pharmaceutical industry. The plan to promote domestic manufacturing could potentially lead to job loss for individuals working in companies that currently outsource their production.
3. The report developed under this legislation could also have implications for national security, as it aims to address any potential risks associated with reliance on drugs and devices sourced or manufactured outside of the United States. This could affect individuals who work in the government or military sectors, as well as the general public if there are concerns about the safety and security of the supply chain for medical products.
[Congressional Bills 116th Congress] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office] [S. 3478 Introduced in Senate (IS)] <DOC> 116th CONGRESS 2d Session S. 3478 To require a report to assess, evaluate, and address the dependence of the United States on critical drugs and devices sourced or manufactured outside of the United States. _______________________________________________________________________ IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES March 12, 2020 Mr. Durbin (for himself, Mr. Alexander, Mrs. Murray, Mr. Romney, Mr. Jones, Mr. Blunt, Ms. Smith, Ms. Baldwin, Mr. Reed, Ms. Klobuchar, and Mr. Blumenthal) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions _______________________________________________________________________ A BILL To require a report to assess, evaluate, and address the dependence of the United States on critical drugs and devices sourced or manufactured outside of the United States. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. This Act may be cited as the ``Commission on America's Medical Security Act''. SEC. 2. NATIONAL ACADEMIES REPORT ON AMERICA'S MEDICAL PRODUCT SUPPLY CHAIN SECURITY. (a) In General.--Not later than 60 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Health and Human Services shall enter into an agreement with the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (referred to in this section as the ``National Academies'') to examine, and, in a manner that does not compromise national security, report on, the security of the United States medical product supply chain. (b) Purposes.--The report developed under this section shall-- (1) assess and evaluate the dependence of the United States, including the private commercial sector, States, and the Federal Government, on critical drugs and devices that are sourced or manufactured outside of the United States, which may include an analysis of-- (A) the supply chain of critical drugs and devices of greatest priority to providing health care; (B) any potential public health security or national security risks associated with reliance on critical drugs and devices sourced or manufactured outside of the United States, which may include responses to previous or existing shortages or public health emergencies, such as infectious disease outbreaks, bioterror attacks, and other public health threats; (C) any existing supply chain information gaps, as applicable; and (D) potential economic impact of increased domestic manufacturing; and (2) provide recommendations, which may include a plan to improve the resiliency of the supply chain for critical drugs and devices as described in paragraph (1), and to address any supply vulnerabilities or potential disruptions of such products that would significantly affect or pose a threat to public health security or national security, as appropriate, which may include strategies to-- (A) promote supply chain redundancy and contingency planning; (B) encourage domestic manufacturing, including consideration of economic impacts, if any; (C) improve supply chain information gaps; (D) improve planning considerations for medical product supply chain capacity during public health emergencies; and (E) promote the accessibility of such drugs and devices. (c) Input.--In conducting the study and developing the report under subsection (b), the National Academies shall-- (1) consider input from the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Defense, the Department of Commerce, the Department of State, the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Department of Justice, and any other Federal agencies as appropriate; and (2) consult with relevant stakeholders, which may include conducting public meetings and other forms of engagement, as appropriate, with health care providers, medical professional societies, State-based societies, public health experts, State and local public health departments, State medical boards, patient groups, medical product manufacturers, health care distributors, wholesalers and group purchasing organizations, pharmacists, and other entities with experience in health care and public health, as appropriate. (d) Definitions.--In this section, the terms ``device'' and ``drug'' have the meanings given such terms in section 201 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 321). <all>