Press Releases

Little Rock, Ark. — Today, Rep. French Hill (AR-02) introduced H.R. 6399, the Securing America’s Vaccines for Emergencies (SAVE) Act. This bill amends the Defense Production Act (DPA) to use its authority to ensure the availability of medical equipment. The DPA, which was invoked by President Trump on March 18, 2020, provides the federal government more control during times of emergencies to direct industrial production. Rep. Hill’s legislation dovetails with the President’s actions by diversifying America’s medical supply chain, with the intention of making the United States less dependent on foreign manufacturers, like China. 

“The SAVE Act is critical because it will decrease our nation’s reliance on other countries for medical supplies and ensure that during times of a public health emergency, like we are experiencing right now, we will have the supplies we need to keep Arkansans and Americans safe. It complements the actions President Trump has already taken to ensure that our country will have a reliable and necessary source of medical supplies during times of emergency.”

The full text of H.R. 6399 can be found HERE. Specifically, the bill: 

(1) Outlines the President should use DPA authorities to ensure the availability of medical articles essential to national defense, specifically as it relates to securing our supply chains. 

(2) Clarifies that the President may provide incentives to ensure the availability of medical articles essential for national defense.

(3) Requires the President to create a strategy on securing medical article supply chains, including for drugs that diagnose, cure, mitigate, treat, or prevent disease.

(4) Provides the President explicit authority to use the DPA to protect supply chains by allowing entities to increase the security of supply chains and their activities.