Make PPE in America Act

II 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION S. 4578 To provide for domestic sourcing of personal protective equipment, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES SEPTEMBER 15, 2020 Mr. PORTMAN (for himself and Mr. PETERS) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Secu- rity and Governmental Affairs A BILL To provide for domestic sourcing of personal protective equipment, 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 ‘‘Make PPE in America 4 Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 6 Congress makes the following findings: 7 (1) The COVID–19 pandemic has exposed the 8 vulnerability of the United States supply chains for, 9 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:30 Sep 22, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4578.IS S4578 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 4578 IS and lack of domestic production of, personal protec- 1 tive equipment (PPE). 2 (2) The United States requires a robust, secure, 3 and wholly domestic PPE supply chain to safeguard 4 public health and national security. 5 (3) Issuing a strategy that provides the govern- 6 ment’s anticipated needs over the next three years 7 will enable suppliers to assess what changes, if any, 8 are needed in their manufacturing capacity to meet 9 expected demands. 10 (4) In order to foster a domestic PPE supply 11 chain, United States industry needs a strong and 12 consistent demand signal from the Federal Govern- 13 ment providing the necessary certainty to expand 14 production capacity investment in the United States. 15 (5) In order to effectively incentivize investment 16 in the United States and the re-shoring of manufac- 17 turing, long-term contracts must be no shorter than 18 three years in duration. 19 (6) The United States needs a long-term invest- 20 ment strategy for the domestic production of PPE 21 items critical to the United States national response 22 to a public health crisis, including the COVID–19 23 pandemic. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:30 Sep 22, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4578.IS S4578 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 4578 IS SEC. 3. REQUIREMENT OF LONG-TERM CONTRACTS FOR 1 DOMESTICALLY MANUFACTURED PERSONAL 2 PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT. 3 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 4 (1) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT- 5 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com- 6 mittees’’ means— 7 (A) the Committee on Health, Education, 8 Labor, and Pensions, the Committee on Fi- 9 nance, the Committee on Homeland Security 10 and Governmental Affairs, the Committee on 11 Veterans’ Affairs, and the Committee on Armed 12 Services of the Senate; and 13 (B) the Committee on Energy and Com- 14 merce, the Committee on Ways and Means, the 15 Committee on Homeland Security, the Com- 16 mittee on Veterans’ Affairs, and the Committee 17 on Armed Services of the House of Representa- 18 tives. 19 (2) COVERED SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘covered 20 Secretary’’ means the Secretary of Homeland Secu- 21 rity, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, 22 the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of Edu- 23 cation, and the Secretary of Veterans Affairs. 24 (3) PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT.—The 25 term ‘‘personal protective equipment’’ means sur- 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:30 Sep 22, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4578.IS S4578 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 4578 IS gical masks, respirator masks and powered air puri- 1 fying respirators and required filters, face shields 2 and protective eyewear, gloves, disposable and reus- 3 able surgical and isolation gowns, and head and foot 4 coverings, or other gear or clothing used to protect 5 an individual from the transmission of disease. 6 (4) UNITED STATES.—The term ‘‘United 7 States’’ means the 50 States, the District of Colum- 8 bia, and the possessions of the United States. 9 (b) CONTRACT REQUIREMENTS.—Beginning 90 days 10 after the date of the enactment of this Act, in order to 11 ensure the sustainment and expansion of personal protec- 12 tive equipment manufacturing in the United States and 13 meet the needs of the current pandemic response, any con- 14 tract for the procurement of personal protective equipment 15 entered into by a covered Secretary, or a covered Sec- 16 retary’s designee, shall— 17 (1) be issued for a duration of at least 3 years, 18 including a base period and all option periods, to 19 incentivize investment in the production of personal 20 protective equipment and the materials and compo- 21 nents thereof in the United States; and 22 (2) be for personal protective equipment that— 23 (A) is grown, reprocessed, reused, or pro- 24 duced in the United States; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:43 Sep 22, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4578.IS S4578 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 4578 IS (B) when assembled outside the United 1 States, contains only materials and components 2 that are grown, reprocessed, reused, or pro- 3 duced in the United States. 4 (c) AVAILABILITY EXCEPTION.—Paragraph (2) of 5 subsection (b) shall not apply to an item of personal pro- 6 tective equipment, or component or material thereof— 7 (1) that is, or that includes, a material listed in 8 section 25.104 of the Federal Acquisition Regulation 9 as one for which a non-availability determination has 10 been made; 11 (2) as to which the covered Secretary deter- 12 mines that a sufficient quantity of a satisfactory 13 quality that is grown, reprocessed, reused, or pro- 14 duced in the United States cannot be procured as, 15 and when, needed at United States market prices; or 16 (3) if, after maximizing to the extent feasible 17 sources consistent with subsection (b), the covered 18 Secretary certifies every 120 days that it is nec- 19 essary to procure personal protective equipment 20 under alternate procedures to respond to the imme- 21 diate needs of a public health emergency. 22 (d) REPORT.— 23 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after 24 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Director 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:30 Sep 22, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4578.IS S4578 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •S 4578 IS of the Office of Management and Budget, in con- 1 sultation with the covered Secretaries, shall submit 2 to the chairs and ranking members of the appro- 3 priate congressional committees a report on the pro- 4 curement of personal protective equipment. 5 (2) ELEMENTS.—The report required under 6 paragraph (1) shall include the following elements: 7 (A) The United States long-term domestic 8 procurement strategy for PPE produced in the 9 United States, including strategies to 10 incentivize investment in and maintain United 11 States supply chains for all PPE sufficient to 12 meet the needs of the United States during a 13 public health emergency. 14 (B) An estimate of long-term demand 15 quantities for all PPE items procured by the 16 United States. 17 (C) Recommendations for congressional ac- 18 tion required to implement the United States 19 Government’s procurement strategy. 20 (D) A determination whether all notifica- 21 tions, amendments, and other necessary actions 22 have been completed to bring the United States 23 existing international obligations into con- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:30 Sep 22, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4578.IS S4578 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •S 4578 IS formity with the statutory requirements of this 1 Act. 2 (e) AUTHORIZATION OF TRANSFER OF EQUIP- 3 MENT.—A covered Secretary may transfer to the Strategic 4 National Stockpile established under section 319F–2 of 5 the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 247d–6b) any 6 excess personal protective equipment acquired under a 7 contract executed pursuant to subsection (b). 8 (f) COMPLIANCE WITH INTERNATIONAL AGREE- 9 MENTS.—This Act shall be applied in a manner consistent 10 with United States obligations under international agree- 11 ments. 12 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:30 Sep 22, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S4578.IS S4578 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS