Covid-19 Emergency Medical Supplies Enhancement Act of 2021

Floor Speech

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Mr. VARGAS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the COVID-19 Emergency Medical Supplies Enhancement Act, H.R. 3125, because I agree with my good friend from Arkansas that we don't want to get caught at low tide with no bathing suit. In fact, that is a very bad idea.

The administration has been extremely effective in using the Defense Production Act to help produce vaccines and PPE. Following these efforts, cases and deaths have declined significantly. My bipartisan bill will support the current use of DPA and facilitate its use in the future to save lives.

This bill amends the DPA to explicitly include public health emergency preparedness as a core activity for national defense, as was mentioned by my good friend from Arkansas.

It also provides guidance to create an outreach representative who would act as the point person for Federal and private engagement to increase production of medically necessary materials.

It also requires the administration to provide a much-needed report clearly conveying the Federal contracts awarded under the DPA authorities.

Finally, it requires additional reporting on the percentage of contracts awarded to small businesses.

I urge the administration to disaggregate data on small businesses awarded the DPA contracts. We need to clearly see the number of contracts going to individuals from underserved communities, including communities of color, veterans, and individuals with disabilities.

I am proud to have introduced this bill with my good friend from Arkansas, Representative Hill; and also my colleagues as cosponsors, Representatives Taylor, Ryan, and Gonzalez-Colon. In a bipartisan manner, we have recognized the importance of public health emergency preparedness, including PPE and vaccine production.

(English translation of the statement made in Spanish is as follows:)

I also want to say that too many people in our Latino communities have died due to this virus. So, please, now that the vaccine is available, protect yourselves and protect our community--get vaccinated today.

Tambien quiero decir que demasiadas personas de nuestras comunidades Latinas han muerto por este virus. Entonces, por favor, ya que la vacuna esta disponible, protejanse y protejan a nuestra comunidad-- vayanse a vacunar hoy.

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