U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin Announces New Legislation to Scale Up Made in America Production of Medical Supplies and Personal Protective Equipment For Hospitals and Health Care Workers
Baldwin Plan will Require the Full Use of Defense Production Act
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin announced new legislation to expedite the procurement of medical equipment, under the Defense Production Act (DPA), to combat the spread of coronavirus. Despite multiple announcements, President Donald Trump has not utilized the federal government’s entire authority under DPA, so Baldwin’s legislation would require the President to do so in order to quickly produce and ensure access to supplies, including Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), for health care workers on the frontlines of this pandemic.
“Wisconsin hospitals and health care providers are currently facing a dire shortage of supplies and medical equipment, including PPE. The President needs to act now to give them the resources they need to fight this pandemic and this will require him to take action,”said Senator Baldwin. “My legislation will trigger the full authority of the Defense Production Act without delay so we can massively scale up production of Made in America medical supplies that our health care workers need to combat this public health emergency and save lives.”
Specifically, this legislation will:
· Immediately require a major purchase order for 300 million N95 masks, which will allow industry to begin scaling up production of masks and other PPE materials.
· Require the National Response Coordination Center to conduct a national assessment on current medical supply needs and a follow up major purchase order to fulfill the needs identified in the assessment.
· Waive restrictions on dollar limitations for orders executed under DPA and a 30 day waiting period for orders that exceed $50 million.
· Authorize increased funding for DPA accounts that are being considered for supplemental COVID-19 spending packages.
The full bill text is available here.
An online version of this release is available here.
NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. While it is believed to be reliable, Urban Milwaukee does not guarantee its accuracy or completeness.
More about the Coronavirus Pandemic
- MHD Release: Milwaukee Health Department Launches COVID-19 Wastewater Testing Dashboard - City of Milwaukee Health Department - Jan 23rd, 2024
- Milwaukee County Announces New Policies Related to COVID-19 Pandemic - County Executive David Crowley - May 9th, 2023
- DHS Details End of Emergency COVID-19 Response - Wisconsin Department of Health Services - Apr 26th, 2023
- Milwaukee Health Department Announces Upcoming Changes to COVID-19 Services - City of Milwaukee Health Department - Mar 17th, 2023
- Fitzgerald Applauds Passage of COVID-19 Origin Act - U.S. Rep. Scott Fitzgerald - Mar 10th, 2023
- DHS Expands Free COVID-19 Testing Program - Wisconsin Department of Health Services - Feb 10th, 2023
- MKE County: COVID-19 Hospitalizations Rising - Graham Kilmer - Jan 16th, 2023
- Not Enough Getting Bivalent Booster Shots, State Health Officials Warn - Gaby Vinick - Dec 26th, 2022
- Nearly All Wisconsinites Age 6 Months and Older Now Eligible for Updated COVID-19 Vaccine - Wisconsin Department of Health Services - Dec 15th, 2022
- City of Milwaukee Bi-Weekly COVID-19 Update - City of Milwaukee Health Department - Dec 9th, 2022
Read more about Coronavirus Pandemic here
Mentioned in This Press Release
Recent Press Releases by U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin
Senator Baldwin Delivers Over $6 Million for Wisconsin Airports to Improve Safety and Efficiency
Aug 12th, 2024 by U.S. Sen. Tammy BaldwinMilwaukee, Green Bay, Marathon County, and La Crosse airports receive Baldwin-backed federal investment
Senator Baldwin Delivers Over $8 Million to Grow Wisconsin’s Clean Energy Workforce
Aug 9th, 2024 by U.S. Sen. Tammy BaldwinInfrastructure funding will train workers for family-supporting careers in clean energy sector
Baldwin Introduces Legislation to Combat Wildlife and Livestock Disease Outbreaks
Aug 8th, 2024 by U.S. Sen. Tammy BaldwinLegislation comes as Wisconsin farmers confront avian flu outbreak in dairy cattle
Thank you Tammy for the very sensible legislation. I would also suggest that anyone interested in how fragile free trade has made our health care system read “China Rx” by Rosemary Gibson.