WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Senator Rick Scott issued the following statement urging the immediate passage of his Accelerating Movement of Essential Rx Items to Create Access to National Drug Resources for US Government Services Act (AMERICAN DRUGS Act) to cut U.S. reliance on drugs made in Communist China. Senator Scott’s AMERICAN DRUGS Act will 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. Senators Mike Braun and J.D. Vance are cosponsors of the legislation.

As Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) Subcommittee on Personnel, Senator Scott has repeatedly pressed the Department of Defense to end its reliance on products from Communist China, including pharmaceutical drugs. Last month, in response to questioning from Senator Scott during a SASC hearing, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin agreed that the DoD must ensure that its supply chains “are not vulnerable to manipulation by adversaries. So it’s important to us to make sure that we don’t have elements from our adversaries included in our weapons systems and repair parts and you name it.”

During a hearing in the SASC Personnel Subcommittee today, Senator Scott will again press Defense officials on the vulnerabilities presented by the U.S. Government’s reliance on Chinese drugs and seek a commitment on shifting DoD drug procurement to domestic producers.

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

Upon introduction of the AMERICAN DRUGS Act earlier this Congress, 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.”

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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