We're months into this crisis & we still don't have enough PPE for frontline health care workers or a plan for national testing capacity. That's why today @SenatorBaldwin, @SenSchumer and I announced the Medical Supply Transparency & Delivery Act.
Quick THREAD on what it does:
Quick THREAD on what it does:
1/ Federalize the medical supply chain - first and foremost the bill requires the president to use his authorities under the Defense Production Act to produce and distribute the PPE and critical medical supplies we desperately need.
2/ Put someone in charge - the bill establishes an Executive Officer to oversee all of the logistics for COVID-19 equipment production and delivery.
We need one person who can direct the whole process instead of the mess we have now.
We need one person who can direct the whole process instead of the mess we have now.
3/ Increase transparency - the Exec. Officer will publicly post all states’ requests for assistance and the manufacturers who will produce them.
That way everyone knows where the need is and where the product is going.
That way everyone knows where the need is and where the product is going.
4/ Create a plan for testing - The bill requires the administration to produce a comprehensive plan for COVID–19 testing, including viral and antibody testing. And it puts a framework in place to rapidly scale up production of a vaccine once we have one.
5/ Learn lessons and prepare - The bill requires a GAO report to identify lessons learned and make recommendations on future pandemic response. It also requires the national stockpiles to be replenished.
6/ The administration has completely failed to deliver the kind of response we need to COVID-19.
But it's not too late to try and fix this.
We can start by passing our bill to get supplies to health care workers, stand up testing, and increase transparency.
But it's not too late to try and fix this.
We can start by passing our bill to get supplies to health care workers, stand up testing, and increase transparency.
