The U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s senior vice president for International Policy, John Murphy, issued a statement June 22 welcoming the Medical Supply Chain Resilience Act, which was introduced by Senator Tom Carper (D-DE) and Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC) earlier that day.

“The Chamber strongly supports the Medical Supply Chain Resilience Act, which will strengthen supply chains for medical goods and services while bolstering manufacturing in the U.S. and among our close allies and partners,” Murphy said. “This is practical legislation that, if enacted, will apply lessons learned in the COVID-19 pandemic to strengthen America’s health preparedness. The Chamber urges Congress to pass it into law.”

The Medical Supply Chain Resiliency Act would enable the establishment of trusted trade partnerships as a way to diversify the sourcing and procurement of medical devices and pharmaceuticals, thereby giving businesses timely access to the supplies they need to care for patients during public health crises or national security threats.

“Premier has been a long-standing leader and advocate for appropriate geographic diversity to mitigate risk, reduce overreliance, and help create a more sustainable and secure healthcare supply chain for U.S. providers and patients,” said Michael J. Alkire, the president and CEO of Premier Inc. “The COVID-19 pandemic provided a dramatic case in point: for critical healthcare products and drugs, there should be three or more global suppliers and at least one U.S.-based and/or nearshore source. This legislation is essential to encouraging greater diversification – and to help strengthen the resiliency of supply chains for life-saving medical products and services.”