November 2, 2023- Health Industry Distributors Association (HIDA) strongly endorses bipartisan legislation introduced by Representatives Mike Ezell (R-MS) and John Garamendi (D-CA) that will ensure critical medical supplies are expedited during emergencies.
The Facilitating Access to Swiftly Transport Goods during a Publicly Announced State of Emergency Situation (FAST PASS) Act would direct the Secretary of Transportation to initiate a study to examine efforts to expedite the movement of critical cargo across all modes of transportation during emergencies.
During the West Coast port backlog of 2021-22, approximately 31,000-46,000 containers of critical medical supplies were delayed an average of 29 days throughout the transportation system. A single shipping container can hold up to 3.5 million pairs of exam gloves, 187,000 surgical gowns, and 360,000 syringes.
Key provisions of the bill include:
● Evaluate methodologies, practices, and processes for expediting cargo during a Federal Emergency
● Require the Department of Transportation (DOT) to consult with the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and other relevant agencies
● Examine processes to mitigate impact on the movement of other cargo that is not deemed critical during an emergency
● Include recommendations for using data from commercial and government data tracking systems to determine which cargo is critical and when it needs to be expedited
● DOT will seek public comment and issue a report to Congress two years after enactment
● The agency has the option of establishing one or more voluntary pilot programs to test the effectiveness of recommended practices included in the report