A bipartisan group of congressional lawmakers proposed legislation that would overhaul the Strategic National Stockpile (SNS), expand domestic manufacturing of medical supplies and improve America’s preparedness for public health emergencies.

U.S. Sens. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) and Maggie Hassan (D-NH) unveiled the bipartisan Strengthening America’s Strategic National Stockpile Act of 2021, S. 1974, which would amend the Public Health Service Act to improve the SNS. U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) on May 28 introduced the companion bill, H.R. 3635, in her chamber with 15 original cosponsors.

“COVID-19 showed the danger of our nation’s dependence on China and other foreign countries for life-saving supplies,” Sen. Cassidy said. “We need to strengthen the Strategic National Stockpile by producing these supplies at home which creates jobs and bolsters our independence.”

“We can never again let our country be dependent on foreign suppliers for the equipment we need when crises like this pandemic strike,” said Rep. Slotkin.

The measure would call for improved maintenance of the SNS to ensure stockpiled items are in good working order; provide more federal resources to states to expand or maintain their own strategic stockpiles of medical supplies; and bring transparency to stockpile allocations by requiring a report to Congress on all requests for stockpile supplies during the pandemic and the response to each request, according to a bill summary provided by the lawmakers.

As part of providing states with more resources, the bill would require the HHS Secretary to establish a pilot grant program for states to expand or maintain a strategic stockpile of commercially available drugs, devices, PPE, and other products that a state deems “essential in the event of a public health emergency,” according to the bill’s text.

Increasing or contracting emergency stock of critical medical supplies; 
Geographically diversifying domestic production of such medical supplies; 
Entering into cooperative agreements or partnerships regarding manufacturing lines, facilities and equipment to domestically produce such medical supplies; and 
Managing — either directly or through cooperative agreements with manufacturers and distributors — domestic reserves by refreshing and replenishing the stockpile of such medical supplies, according to the text of the bill.

The bill also would establish and maintain the domestic reserves of critical medical supplies, including PPE, ancillary medical supplies and other supplies required to administer drugs, vaccines and biological products, as well as diagnostic tests, according to the bill’s text.

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