Coalition Letter on the Medical Supply Chain Resiliency Act

Re: Passage of the Medical Supply Chain Resiliency Act (S. 2115/H.R. 4307)

Dear Chairmen Smith and Wyden and Ranking Members Neal and Crapo:

We urge your respective Committees to consider and report favorably the Medical Supply Chain Resiliency Act (S. 2115/H.R. 4307), bipartisan legislation introduced by Senators Tom Carper (D-DE) and Thom Tillis (R-NC) and Representatives Michelle Steel (R-CA) and Brad Schneider (D-IL). This bill would strengthen medical supply chains with key U.S. allies, improve medical supply chain resilience, and bolster U.S. national security and public health.

As the COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated, medical supply chains are critical to delivering health-related goods and services swiftly, safely, and efficiently to patients. The pandemic also underscored the importance of collaboration with allies and supply chain diversification. This legislation applies lessons learned from the last pandemic to better prepare us for the next one.

To achieve this goal, the bill would empower the United States to negotiate Trusted Trade Partner Agreements that would eliminate barriers to trade and harmonize regulations with U.S. allies that meet high standards, including a proven track record of maintaining open trade with the United States during emergencies, complying with trade agreements, and protecting intellectual property. The legislation also includes substantial congressional oversight provisions.

Bipartisan support for the legislation is growing in Congress. The recently released report by the House Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party endorsed the bill. According to the report, this legislation would build a trusted network of trading partners in the pharmaceutical sector that would “promote alternate sources for active pharmaceutical ingredients and encourage resiliency in pharmaceutical and medical good supply chains.”

For these reasons, we ask you to expeditiously report the Medical Supply Chain Resiliency Act to the full Congress.

Sincerely,

Companies:

Agilent Technologies Inc

Altrius Group LLC

Danaher Corporation

Eli Lilly and Company

Gilead Sciences

IBM

Microsoft Corp.

Pfizer Inc.

Siemens Healthineers

UPS

Vizient, Inc.

Zimmer Biomet

Associations:

AdvaMed

Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO)

Medical Device Manufacturers Association

National Association of Manufacturers

National Foreign Trade Council

Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA)

U.S. Chamber of Commerce

cc:       Members of the House Committee on Ways and Means

            Members of the Senate Committee on Finance