Republicans ask VA to provide update on supply chain plans

(NewsNation) — House Republicans are demanding the Department of Veterans Affairs work to decrease reliance on medical supplies from China and update the House on efforts to ensure China could not interfere with the supply chain and put Americans in danger.

Reps. Mike Bost, R-Ill., and Mike Gallagher, R-Wis., authored the letter to the VA, noting that the COVID-19 pandemic exposed the public health risks of relying on global supply chains for critical medical supplies. As China dealt with the growing pandemic, the Chinese Communist Party nationalized the medical supply industry and diverted products for domestic use, leaving the rest of the world grappling with shortages.

The VA, along with the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Homeland Security, were directed to create a more reliable supply chain in the interest of public health by an executive order.

Lawmakers noted that while the departments have issued a report identifying conditions that helped make the supply chain vulnerable, including a reliance on China and a move toward just-in-time inventory, it did not provide as much detail about how the departments planned to address those concerns.

The letter noted that the VA is the largest buyer of medical supplies, many of which include components sourced from China.

Lawmakers asked the agency to update them on the status of supply chain preparedness and specifically assessments of how dependent the supply chain is on China. The letter also asked for details on how the VA would work with the Strategic National Stockpile and what the agency intends to do to ensure stockpiled supplies are tracked and rotated so they don’t expire.

They also asked for the agency’s plan on maintaining an inventory of critical supplies so it would not be competing with other agencies and state or local governments in the event of a national public health emergency.

Lawmakers did not provide a deadline for the VA to respond to the request.