Rep. Earl L. “Buddy” Carter, Chairman of the Subcommittee on Health, addressed a hearing titled “Made In America: Strengthening Domestic Manufacturing And The Health Care Supply Chain.” In his opening statement, Carter highlighted concerns about U.S. reliance on foreign countries for essential medications and health care products.
Carter emphasized the risks associated with dependence on adversarial nations such as China for antibiotics and essential medicines. He stated, “The United States should never be dependent on the Chinese Communist Party for the antibiotics and essential medicines.”
He provided statistics showing a decline in domestic pharmaceutical manufacturing from 72 percent in 2002 to 37.5 percent by 2023. Carter remarked that this outsourcing has affected national security and patient safety.
Reflecting on past events, Carter noted the impacts during the COVID-19 pandemic when medical supplies from China were reduced before the virus was widely known outside China. He criticized China’s actions during this period, saying they concealed information about an unidentified sickness and withheld supplies.
Carter also discussed drug shortages under the Biden-Harris Administration, mentioning that over 323 drugs were in shortage during early 2024. He criticized what he described as a lack of comprehensive efforts to support American manufacturers or reduce reliance on foreign supply chains.
Highlighting recent initiatives under President Trump’s leadership, Carter mentioned investments by companies like Johnson & Johnson, Amgen, AbbVie, and Sanofi to bolster domestic production facilities across various states.
Carter commended recent efforts to enhance domestic production but urged Congress to eliminate regulatory barriers and create incentives for innovation in manufacturing. He pointed out Georgia’s success in attracting investment through pro-growth policies as an example for federal policy-making.
House Republicans’ passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act was mentioned as a step toward incentivizing domestic medical supply production by rewarding companies building their products in America.
Concluding his statement, Carter called for viewing pharmaceutical independence similarly to energy independence and expressed support for policies putting America First in health care systems.
