The American PPE Supply Chain Integrity Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 7841 To require the purchase by the Federal Government of certain medical sup- plies and protection equipment from the United States, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JULY 29, 2020 Mr. MCHENRY (for himself and Mr. PASCRELL) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Armed Services, and in addition to the Committees on Homeland Security, Energy and Commerce, Vet- erans’ Affairs, Education and Labor, Ways and Means, and Natural Re- sources, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdic- tion of the committee concerned A BILL To require the purchase by the Federal Government of cer- tain medical supplies and protection equipment from the United States, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘The American PPE 4 Supply Chain Integrity Act’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:47 Aug 24, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7841.IH H7841 2 •HR 7841 IH SEC. 2. REQUIREMENT TO PURCHASE CERTAIN MEDICAL 1 SUPPLIES AND PERSONAL PROTECTIVE 2 EQUIPMENT FROM THE UNITED STATES. 3 (a) COVERED SECRETARIES.— 4 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), 5 any covered item purchased by a covered Secretary 6 shall be from the United States. For purposes of 7 this subsection, ‘‘from the United States’’ means 8 that 100 percent of a product is grown, reprocessed, 9 reused, or produced in the United States. 10 (2) EXCEPTIONS.—Notwithstanding paragraph 11 (1), the applicable covered Secretary may waive the 12 requirements of such paragraph if such covered Sec- 13 retary determines that satisfactory quality and suffi- 14 cient quantity of any such covered item from the 15 United States cannot be procured as and when need- 16 ed at United States market prices. This subsection 17 shall not apply to covered items that are or that in- 18 clude materials determined to be non-available in ac- 19 cordance with section 25.104 of title 48 of the Fed- 20 eral Acquisition Regulation. 21 (b) EXCEPTION FOR SMALL PURCHASES.—Sub- 22 section (a) shall not apply to purchases for amounts not 23 greater than $150,000. A proposed purchase or contract 24 for an amount greater than $150,000 may not be divided 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:24 Aug 20, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7841.IH H7841 3 •HR 7841 IH into several purchases or contracts for lesser amounts in 1 order to qualify for this exception. 2 (c) APPLICABILITY.—The requirements of this sec- 3 tion shall apply with respect to a purchase of a covered 4 item made pursuant to subsection (a) on or after the date 5 of the enactment of this Act. 6 (d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 7 (1) COVERED ITEM.—The term ‘‘covered item’’ 8 means an article or item of— 9 (A) personal protective equipment (includ- 10 ing surgical masks, respirator masks and pow- 11 ered air purifying respirators and required fil- 12 ters, face shields and protective eyewear, sur- 13 gical and isolation gowns, and head and foot 14 coverings) or clothing, and the materials and 15 components thereof, other than sensors, elec- 16 tronics, or other items added to and not nor- 17 mally associated with such personal protective 18 equipment or clothing; 19 (B) sanitizing and disinfecting wipes, pri- 20 vacy curtains, beds and bedding, testing swabs, 21 gauze and bandages, tents, tarpaulins, covers, 22 or bags; or 23 (C) cotton and other natural fiber prod- 24 ucts, woven silk or woven silk blends, spun silk 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:24 Aug 20, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7841.IH H7841 4 •HR 7841 IH yarn for cartridge cloth, synthetic fabric or 1 coated synthetic fabric (including all textile fi- 2 bers and yarns that are for use in such fabrics), 3 canvas products, or wool (whether in the form 4 of fiber or yarn or contained in fabrics, mate- 5 rials, or manufactured articles). 6 (2) COVERED SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘covered 7 Secretary’’ means the Secretary of Health and 8 Human Services, the Secretary of the Department of 9 Homeland Security, and the Secretary of the De- 10 partment of Veterans Affairs. 11 SEC. 3. EXCEPTION TO DOMESTIC REQUIREMENT FOR 12 SMALL PURCHASES. 13 (a) DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE.—Section 2533a(h) 14 of title 10, United States Code, is amended by striking 15 ‘‘the simplified acquisition threshold’’ and all that follows 16 through the period at the end and inserting the following: 17 ‘‘$150,000. A proposed purchase for an amount greater 18 than $150,000 may not be divided into several purchases 19 or contracts for lesser amounts in order to qualify for this 20 exception.’’. 21 (b) DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY.—Sub- 22 section (f) of section 604 the American Recovery and Re- 23 investment Act of 2009 (6 U.S.C. 453b) is amended by 24 striking ‘‘the simplified acquisition threshold’’ and all that 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:24 Aug 20, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7841.IH H7841 5 •HR 7841 IH follows through the period at the end and inserting the 1 following: ‘‘$150,000. A proposed purchase for an amount 2 greater than $150,000 may not be divided into several 3 purchases or contracts for lesser amounts in order to qual- 4 ify for this exception.’’. 5 SEC. 4. APPLICATION OF THE BERRY AMENDMENT TO CER- 6 TAIN DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY PUR- 7 CHASES. 8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 2533a of title 10, United 9 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol- 10 lowing new subsection: 11 ‘‘(l) APPLICATION TO CERTAIN DEFENSE LOGISTICS 12 AGENCY PURCHASES.—Subsection (a) applies to pur- 13 chases made by the Director of the Defense Logistics 14 Agency on behalf of the General Services Administration 15 or any other Federal agency.’’. 16 (b) APPLICABILITY.—The requirements of this sec- 17 tion and the amendments made by this section shall apply 18 with respect to a purchase made under section 2533a of 19 title 10, United States Code, on or after the date of the 20 enactment of this Act. 21 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:24 Aug 20, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7841.IH H7841 6 •HR 7841 IH SEC. 5. APPLICATION OF THE BERRY AMENDMENT TO CER- 1 TAIN MEDICAL SUPPLIES AND PERSONAL 2 PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT. 3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 2533a(b) of title 10, 4 United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the 5 following new paragraphs: 6 ‘‘(5) Surgical dressing materials. 7 ‘‘(6) Hospital and surgical clothing and related 8 special purpose items. 9 ‘‘(7) Replenishable field medical sets, kits, and 10 outfits. 11 ‘‘(8) All textile medical supplies and equip- 12 ment.’’. 13 (b) APPLICABILITY.—The requirements of this sec- 14 tion and the amendments made by this section shall apply 15 with respect to a purchase made under section 2533a of 16 title 10, United States Code, on or after the date of the 17 enactment of this Act. 18 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:24 Aug 20, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H7841.IH H7841