U.S. Sens. Deb Fischer (R-NE) and Mike Rounds (R-SD) on March 2 introduced bipartisan legislation to ensure manufacturers and distributors may legally produce ample numbers of respirators during public health crises, such as the current COVID-19 coronavirus epidemic.
“With the number of coronavirus cases on the rise, communities need to be able to quickly access CDC-approved equipment to keep Americans safe,” Sen. Fischer said. “Our bipartisan bill would help ensure manufacturers are producing additional respirators. This would assist medical personnel in responding to the outbreak and saving lives.”
Sen. Fischer sponsored the Health Care Workforce Protection Act of 2020, S.3372, with original cosponsors Sen. Rounds and U.S. Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) to amend the Public Health Service Act to provide for treatment of certain respiratory protective devices as covered countermeasures for purposes of targeted liability protections for pandemic and epidemic products and security countermeasures, according to the text of the bill.
“As the number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 rises in the U.S., making sure South Dakota communities have access to reliable equipment is vitally important,” said Sen. Rounds. “These respirators will help keep South Dakotans and all Americans healthy and safe should we need them.”
Current law allows the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to issue a declaration granting limited liability protection to manufacturers and distributors of certain countermeasures against diseases, including respirators, when the government calls up that equipment to be used in the event of an outbreak or epidemic, according to information provided by the lawmakers.
However, respirators that are overseen by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, part of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, are not currently eligible for that protection, the information states.
If enacted, the bill would amend current law to ensure that all federally certified respirators are eligible for the same federal liability protections as other medical products, vaccines and drugs.
S. 3372 is the U.S. Senate version of the same-named H.R. 4982, introduced in November 2019 by U.S. Reps. Don Bacon (R-NE) and Jim Langevin (D-RI) in the U.S. House.