Save lives - appoint a supply chain czar
In my conversations with our local hospitals during the COVID-19 pandemic, I have consistently heard the same concern: "We are worried about our stock of personal protective equipment (PPE), ventilators and other medical equipment, and we are paying grossly inflated prices to secure supplies."
Hospital administrators, nursing home managers and governors across the country have become procurement officers in what many have described as the "Wild West," with everyone left to fend for themselves. The resulting chaos has led to costly bidding wars and supply dislocations, needlessly putting at risk the lives of patients and healthcare workers alike.
In a situation desperately calling out for bold leadership, the White House's response has been slow, convoluted and too often inept. Perhaps worse, President Trump has irresponsibly injected politics into this crisis, even implying a willingness to condition assistance not on need, but on whether states and governors "treat us well."
It shouldn't be like this. State governments operate at the front lines, crafting distinct solutions for their communities. But states do not have the resources or the heft to take on the biggest challenges alone.
That is where the federal government, and national leadership steps in.
Managing our medical supply chain in the current crisis is a perfect example of how the federal government can fulfill its role. Consolidating the national demand for PPE, medical devices and equipment such as ventilators would give the U.S. a competitive advantage in purchasing.
Effectively and efficiently mobilizing American industry, under the authorities Congress granted the president with the Defense Production Act (DPA) would allow the nation to quickly close the gap between diminished supply and exploding demand.
Coordinating the distribution of the national supply to ensure products get to where they are most needed would ease the pressures on hot spots like Chicago, while giving confidence to communities with only modest rates of infection that they will also be taken care of as the needs arise.
It's clear we desperately need a competent, non-political supply chain authority to coordinate our national response. That is why I am calling for an emergency COVID-19 medical supply chain authority, or "supply chain czar," with statutory ability to oversee the procurement, manufacturing and distribution of these critical supplies.
Rather than a political background, this individual should have significant experience overseeing supply chains, whether in the military or private sector.
President Trump does not need Congress to create this position within his administration. But because he has proven unwilling to act, I am working to build support for legislation requiring him to fill this role.
Last month, I requested Speaker Pelosi make a supply chain czar position a priority for any future coronavirus relief packages. Just this Tuesday, I was joined by two dozen of my colleagues on a letter requesting both House and Senate leadership do the same.
Our nation has overcome daunting challenges in the past, and has proven able to mobilize to a common purpose, from the economic mobilization to win World War II to the scientific advances that landed a man on the moon.
Containing the coronavirus and restarting our economy will require a similar effort. We need someone in charge to ensure we are rowing in the same direction. A non-political national supply chain czar would fill this gap and ensure the medical equipment we need in this time of emergency is getting to where it is needed, when it is needed.
• Congressman Brad Schneider is a Democrat from Deerfield.