WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Senator Rick Scott announced his Accelerating Movement of Essential Rx Items to Create Access to National Drug Resources for US Government Services Act (AMERICAN DRUGS Act) to create a strong incentive for companies to invest in domestic pharmaceutical production; address the ongoing and prevent future drug shortages; and shift away from reliance on Communist China. Currently, about 90% of drugs dispensed at U.S. pharmacies are generic drugs that overwhelmingly come from Communist China and India. The AMERICAN DRUGS Act seeks to fix this problem by leveraging the buying power of the federal government and requiring federal health programs to purchase American-manufactured generic drugs, if there are two or more American manufacturers of a generic drug. Senators Mike Braun and J.D. Vance are cosponsors of the legislation.

The AMERICAN DRUGS Act has been endorsed by Securing America’s Medicines and Supply (SAMS) Coalition and the Coalition for a Prosperous America.

Senator Rick Scott said, “During COVID we learned a hard lesson—our medical supply chain relies heavily on Communist China for critical health products like PPE and medicine. It was a wake-up call to bring jobs back home and reignite American pharmaceutical manufacturing and why I’m fighting to pass the American Drugs Act. Americans can’t trust Communist China and can’t allow any reliance on Xi’s evil regime for life-saving medicine.”

Senator Mike Braun said, “It is a threat to our national security to have so much of our pharmaceutical supply chain overseas in countries like China. Making drugs here in America is safer and better for our country. This bill will move us in the right direction.”

In a letter of support, Securing America’s Medicines and Supply Coalition wrote, “The AMERICAN DRUGS Act strongly aligns with SAMS’s ongoing goals. Specifically, we support measures that leverage the buying power of the U.S. government to purchase American-made generics and biosimilars. Thank you for your leadership on this important issue and we look forward to working with your office to advance this important piece of legislation.” Read the full letter HERE.

In a letter of support, Coalition for a Prosperous America CEO Michael Stumo wrote, “The U.S. once led the world in pharmaceutical manufacturing. Today, however, we cannot even manufacture the most basic essential medicines domestically. Our nation’s overdependence on foreign production has left America vulnerable—both from a national security standpoint and a public health and readiness perspective. It is clear that Congress must work to address this dependence and to pass legislation that would rapidly increase America’s capacity to manufacture generic drugs domestically. Importantly, the AMERICAN DRUGS Act is a good step forward to accomplishing this goal.” Read the full letter HERE.

The AMERICAN DRUGS Act:

• Requires the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to provide notification to agencies when there are two domestic manufacturers of a generic drug;
• Requires FDA to provide the first two domestically manufactured generic drugs expedited drug review; and
• Requires Medicare, Medicaid, the Department of Veterans Affairs and Department of Defense/TRICARE to purchase American-made generic drugs when there are two domestic manufacturers of a drug. Provides the agencies with appropriate waiver authority to ensure no beneficiary is denied access to their medication.

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