Sen. Lindsey Graham doesn’t want the U.S. to rely on China for personal protective equipment as the country is still battling coronavirus.
The South Carolina Republican wrote a letter to White House chief of staff Mark Meadows stating he has plans to introduce legislation in the Senate next week that he wants included in any relief package passed by Congress, The New York Post reports.
Graham is urging the U.S. to buy PPE from companies in the U.S., not China, in his proposed “US Made Act.”
"China maintains a dangerous stranglehold over supplies of masks, gowns, and other Personal Protective Equipment essential to our front line workers," he wrote. “China has laid the groundwork required to dominate the PPE market as part of their effort to maintain a grip on the global public health industrial supply chains."
“Unfortunately, we have seen in stark clarity the problems this placed on our ability to manufacture a robust and reliable supply of PPE," he continued.
He urges Meadows to "support efforts in the upcoming COVID relief package to ensure the federal government is no longer reliant on China for the procurement of PPE.”
Graham’s proposal would give President Donald Trump the authority to implement the “Buy American” provisions of the bill immediately.
“American companies are reluctant to make long term investments in domestic PPE production because of the uncertainty in future market conditions,” Graham wrote. “However, the ability to supply our own PPE is an issue of national security. Just as we don’t rely on China to supply military uniforms we must not rely on them to supply our PPE.”
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