U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin, R-Lansing, today launched the bipartisan Congressional Domestic Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Caucus, a new working group in Congress that will focus on restoring and protecting the U.S.’s pharma manufacturing base.
The Caucus will advance legislation that incentivizes more domestic production for critical medicines to reduce American reliance on foreign countries, head off potential supply chain disruptions, and ensure a steady supply of pharmaceuticals in the event of public health emergencies or natural disasters. Slotkin’s co-chairs for the caucus include Reps. Chrissy Houlahan, D-Pa; Buddy Carter, R-Ga; and Gus Bilirakis, R-Fla.
“This has been over a year in the making: today, I’m launching the bipartisan Domestic Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Caucus to advocate for policies that will bring critical manufacturing back to the U.S.,” Slotkin said. “If COVID taught us anything, it’s that we can’t allow our country — as well as our military — to be dependent on others for absolutely critical supplies. There’s a bunch of Members of Congress across the political spectrum who have learned those hard COVID lessons and are hellbent to ensure we don’t leave ourselves vulnerable again.
“In 2021, I led a task force to evaluate our defense supply chains, and pharmaceuticals were one of the specific issues we investigated. Re-shoring pharmaceuticals will reduce our dependence on other countries, bring jobs back to places like Michigan and help drive down costs for consumers across the country.”
Slotkin has long advocated for prescription drug reform that lowers costs and is a co-lead of the Insulin Price Reduction Act. Earlier this spring, Slotkin introduced the Make Medicine Affordable Act, a bill aimed at driving down the cost of prescription medications by allowing Medicare to negotiate for lower prices, capping the amount seniors on Medicare spend on medication at $2,000 per month and disincentivizing companies from raising prices faster than inflation. The bill would also cap the price of insulin at $35 per month.
In 2020, President Donald Trump signed into law Slotkin’s Real Time Benefits Act, a bill that will improve transparency and help patients save money by enabling their doctors to compare prices for different drug brands and at different pharmacies before a prescription is written for patients to pick up.
