Republican Tennessee Rep. Diana Harshbarger and Democratic California Rep. Juan Vargas will introduce legislation Wednesday that would establish a U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) Abraham Accords bureau to protect U.S. pharmaceutical supply chains and end reliance on countries like China.
The Daily Caller first obtained a copy of the legislation, which is titled The United States-Abraham Accords Cooperation and Security Act. The bill would specifically task the Abraham Accords FDA bureau to do the following, according to Harshbarger’s office:
- “Develop a list of essential medical products that are primarily manufactured in countries of concern and submit such a list to Congress.”
- “Consult with parties in Abraham Accords countries on good manufacturing practices and other issues relevant to manufacturing medical products that are regulated by the FDA.”
- “Facilitate interactions between FDA and interested parties in Abraham Accords countries, including by sharing relevant information regarding United States regulatory pathways with such parties.”
- “Offer technical assistance on manufacturing drugs and devices to interested parties in Abraham Accords countries.”
The Abraham Accords are a Trump-era series of bilateral treaties between Israel and Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Morocco and Sudan.
“Our continued dependence on foreign countries, especially our adversaries such as China, for pharmaceutical products endangers our medical supply chains and jeopardizes our national security. My United States-Abraham Accords Cooperation and Security Act will establish FDA posts in Abraham Accords countries, notably our ally Israel, in order to promote robust and resilient medical supply chains,” Harshbarger told the Caller. (RELATED: EXCLUSIVE: Rep. Steel, Senators Introduce Bipartisan Legislation To Secure Medical Supply Chains)
READ THE LEGISLATION HERE:
(DAILY CALLER OBTAINED) — … by Henry Rodgers
“This vital legislation addresses the high priority need to diversify our medical product supply chains, bolsters our national and healthcare security, and marks a significant step toward ending our reliance on China for vital pharmaceutical products,” she added. (RELATED: ‘Buy American’ — White House Confirms Executive Order That Will End Medical Supply Chain Reliance On China)
Three years after the legislation is signed into law, the secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) will be required to submit an evaluation to Congress of how each office of the Abraham Accords FDA bureau has done its job.
Harshbarger was joined by Vargas as a co-lead. The bill’s co-sponsors are Republican Reps. Randy Weber of Texas, Andy Harris of Maryland and Rick Allen of Georgia and Democratic Reps. Scott Peters and Mike Levin of California.