Don’t let China contaminate U.S. military pharmaceuticals
As the most powerful nation in the world, the United States expects the men and women who serve in our armed forces to have access to the highest quality and most reliable medical regimens possible.
Roughly half of all Americans use some kind of prescription drug on a daily basis, ranging from blood pressure medication to pain relievers and muscle relaxers. However, it’s a little-known fact that the vast majority of key ingredients, biologic components and raw materials used to manufacture these drugs actually come from China. This poses a grave national security threat that must be rectified.
The Pharmaceutical Independence Long-Term Readiness Reform Act, which I have introduced with Democratic Rep. John Garamendi of California, would take the first step to reduce dependency on the Chinese to manufacture our military’s medications. It would also identify ways to purchase more American-made raw materials, medicines and vaccines for our troops.
Right now, China has the ability to attack the United States without firing a single shot by poisoning our military’s medicines or cutting off their supply. The Chinese government is the principal developer of generic prescription drugs, which account for approximately 90% of medications. China’s choke hold on the global pharmaceutical market leaves our service members and our nation vulnerable to attack.
If the Chinese government tomorrow decided to halt its pharmaceutical supply chain and slam the brakes on the production of critical ingredients that go into our service members’ medications, considerable damage could be done to the integrity of our entire national security apparatus.
We have essentially allowed the Chinese to weaponize their pharmaceutical industry against the United States. Not only does our current dependency on China highlight a massive vulnerability for our military and open the possibility of a deliberate manipulation of its medical supplies, but the Chinese government’s lack of proper oversight and regulatory standards on prescription drugs is also deeply problematic for the overall health of the people who defend our country.
For example, Heparin is a blood thinner used by doctors before surgical procedures or prescribed to help manage blood clots. However, many people who use the drug have recently told their doctors that they experienced severe reactions to the drug. After testing by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the cases of negative reactions were traced to tainted biologic ingredients produced in China.
In addition to redressing a critical national security issue, our legislation would advance “make it in America” priorities and provide a vital stimulus to domestic industry and the American economy.
Simply put, we need to ensure that our military’s medicine is American-made. We need to reinvigorate the United States’ industrial base to produce generic medications and antibiotics domestically. Doing so would create thousands of new middle-class jobs and make our country safer.
Specifically, the bill would require the Department of Defense to study this issue and enact policies to strengthen U.S. pharmaceutical manufacturing while ending the dependency on unsafe and unreliable alternatives from foreign nations. We should take every opportunity available to strengthen the middle class and reinvigorate a domestic industry by empowering American materials and workers.
This is a very real issue with grave concerns — not only for our national security, but for the health of all Americans. I hope that more of my fellow members of Congress join Garamendi and me in our efforts to end our dependency on geopolitical adversaries for our prescription drugs and do more to incentivize American manufacturing.
Republican Vicky Hartzler represents Missouri's 4th District in the U.S. House of Representatives. She co-authored this with John Garamendi, Democratic U.S. representative for California’s 3rd District.