HIDA Applauds House Passage Of Strengthening America’s Strategic National Stockpile Act

Legislation will help strengthen U.S. response to future public health emergencies

Alexandria, VA – October 22, 2021 - The Health Industry Distributors Association (HIDA) applauds passage of H.R. 3635, Strengthening America’s Strategic National Stockpile Act of 2021. H.R. 3635 brings the public and private sectors together to build a strong national pandemic response infrastructure.

HIDA commends the bipartisan leadership of Representatives Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), Richard Hudson (R-NC), Kim Schrier (D-WA), and David McKinley (R-WV) to improve the nation’s response to future emergencies. HIDA also thanks Representatives Debbie Dingell (D-MI) and Jackie Walorski (R-IN) for their valuable contributions to this bill.

“As experts in logistics and inventory management, HIDA members have a history as trusted partners of the federal government,” said Matthew J. Rowan, President & CEO of the Health Industry Distributors Association. “Congress has taken an important step toward expanding the use of public-private partnerships to strengthen the stockpiling and distribution of critical supplies.”

The medical supply chain delivers thousands of different products to a diverse set of customers including: 6,000 hospitals; 15,600 nursing homes; 28,900 assisted living facilities; 12,200 home health agencies; 267,000 laboratories; and 230,000 physician offices and clinics.

HIDA looks forward to working with our partners in the Senate on final passage of Strengthening America’s Strategic National Stockpile Act of 2021. Implementation of this policy is more critical than ever to support the Strategic National Stockpile as it recovers from COVID-19 response. H.R. 3635 builds on public-private partnerships to ensure a robust, pre-deployed stockpile ready to respond to the next public health emergency.