The bill would direct the Department of Health and Human Services to partner with eligible U.S. manufacturers to ensure supplies of qualified personal protective equipment (PPE) are available for public health emergencies. The department would have one year to set up a process for purchase agreements that guarantee supplies and manufacturing capacity. To qualify, manufacturers must be headquartered in the continental United States, be majority owned and operated by U.S. citizens, secure their supply chains, and meet domestic production targets that rise from 50% in 2026 to 100% in 2028. Eligible PPE must meet federal safety guidelines, receive required Food and Drug Administration clearance, and use fair-market pricing benchmarks.
The bill would also bar federal, state, and local agencies from using federal funds to buy foreign-made clothing or equipment used to prevent the spread of infectious disease, with certain exceptions that require written justification. Within one year, HHS would report to Congress on changes to federal PPE requirements since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic and their effects on medical workers' safety in 2020 and 2021.
Government agencies using federal funds would generally have to buy infection-control clothing and equipment made in the United States, subject to exceptions. Manufacturers seeking federal purchase agreements would have to meet the bill's ownership, supply-chain, production, and product-quality rules. The bill also calls for a report about PPE requirements and frontline medical workers' safety.
The bill does not specify total costs or funding amounts. It would establish purchase agreements and require eligible products to use fair-market pricing benchmarks set by HHS. No publicly available information on expected expenses.
No publicly available information.
No publicly available information.