Press Releases

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Rep. French Hill (AR-02) today reintroduced the Securing America’s Vaccines for Emergencies (SAVE) Act of 2021.  First introduced in March 2020 in response to the shortage of medical supplies at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the bill amends the Defense Production Act (DPA) to ensure the readily available supply and availability of medical materials, including those essential to national defense.

“The unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic made it clear that we must take action to reduce our dependency on other countries for supplies critical to protecting families in Arkansas and across the nation during a crisis,” said Rep. Hill. “My bill will help improve our medical supply chains and work to ensure that we as a nation are prepared and ready to address any crisis like the COVID-19 pandemic head on.”

Rep. Hill is teaming with Rep. Juan Vargas (CA-51) to address this need, with Rep. Vargas as the original cosponsor of the SAVE Act and Rep. Hill the original cosponsor of Rep. Vargas’ legislation to protect the nation’s supply chains entitled the COVID-19 Emergency Medical Supplies Enhancement Act of 2021.

"The COVID-19 pandemic taught us an important lesson on national preparedness. While it is important to address the ongoing public health emergency, we must also work on ensuring that we are equipped to readily produce essential materials and goods to address future national emergencies," said Rep. Vargas.  "This is why I'm proud to join my colleague, Representative Hill, in introducing his bill, the Securing America's Vaccines for Emergencies Act. This bill aims to help bolster supply chain security for materials essential to our national defense, including the medical supplies needed to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and respond to public health crises moving forward."

The full text of Rep. Hill’s SAVE Act of 2021 can be found online HERE. Specifically, the bill: 

(1) Outlines the President should use DPA authorities to ensure the availability of medical materials 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 materials essential for national defense.

(3) Requires the President to create a strategy on securing medical material supply chains, including for drugs that diagnose, cure, mitigate, treat, or prevent disease. The bill also requires progress reports for implementing that strategy.