WASHINGTON—U.S. Senators Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) and Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), both members of the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pension Committee, on Wednesday applauded the Biden administration’s announcement to boost the United States’ pharmaceutical supply chain under the Defense Production Act (DPA), including an initial commitment from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) of approximately $60 million from the DPA appropriation in the American Rescue Plan to increase domestic manufacturing capacity for active pharmaceutical ingredients: 

“The pandemic exposed the dangers of relying on global supply chains and how necessary it is to beef up domestic manufacturing. When President Biden invoked the DPA, we strengthened our medical supply chain and were able to manufacture millions of life-saving vaccines. The Biden administration is taking important steps that empower American manufacturers and protect our country from future supply shortages like we saw in the early days of COVID-19,” said Murphy and Baldwin.

Murphy and Baldwin have been vocal throughout the pandemic on the need to strengthen the U.S. supply chain. In February, the Senators introduced legislation to provide $10 billion in the American Rescue Plan to support the expansion of domestic manufacturing through the DPA to deliver the vaccine, medical equipment, and other supplies needed to respond to COVID-19.

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