Special Message to the NFRW from U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn

COVID-19 has reminded us that we rely too heavily on foreign manufacturing especially when it comes to our active pharmaceutical ingredients that are necessary for creating many prescription medications.

Currently, the United States houses only 28 percent of active pharmaceutical ingredients production, while a significant portion of these facilities are housed in China. I’ve introduced bipartisan legislation in the Senate called the Securing America’s Medicine Cabinet Act that will focus on bringing our supply chains back to the United States’ shores. But this bill is only the beginning. We must focus on bringing all of our supply chains home from China and restrict them from having access to our technology, infrastructure, and other necessary goods that we currently heavily rely on from them.

President Trump has been standing up to the Communist Chinese regime since day one of his presidency. We agree that China has been a threat to the United States for far too long, and it’s time we hold them accountable for the destruction they have caused with their lies, cover-ups and silencing. They have spread false information at the expense of the global economy and millions of lives.

And make no mistake, organizations like the United Nations and the World Health Organization should be held just as responsible for their protection of China and for allowing China to have a voice, whether it’s gaining a seat on the Human Rights Council or spreading more false information about this deadly virus.

The health and safety of all Americans is my top priority in the U.S. Senate, and that means I will continue working with President Trump to ensure that we hold China accountable for their actions and that we bring our economy back stronger than before. But if China continues to have access to our critical manufacturing, our beloved American way of life will remain at risk.

We should never be confronted again with having to make difficult choices about our medical care due to a supply shortage. We have an opportunity to act on what we have learned from the Wuhan virus and take the long overdue and necessary steps we can take to bring our supply chains home from China once and for all.

U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee is a third-generation Federation member and an honorary member of the NFRW Legislation and Research Committee. Read more about Senator Blackburn.