Blackburn says American drug companies must return to US after Chinese threats to withhold medicine

Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., told the “Todd Starnes Radio Show” Tuesday that China has proven that it cannot be counted after the coronavirus outbreak and said her new bill would help the U.S. be better prepared to deal with any similar future outbreaks.

Blackburn said the U.S. is working diligently to make sure small businesses feel confident that the federal government will provide economic relief, but she said the COVID-19 spread has made it clear that the U.S. cannot rely on Beijing as a medical partner.

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She said the bill, Securing America’s Medicine Cabinet, which is co-sponsored by Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., will encourage drug companies to bring manufacturing their products back to the U.S.

Blackburn said Americans are raising concerns after China said it may withhold effective medications from the U.S. in the fight against the virus. She said many Americans are unhappy with reports that Beijing withheld pertinent information about the virus in its early stages and its decision to be “less than transparent” on where the virus originated.

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“We have been disappointed in what we’ve seen from China,” she said. “And now we have a global pandemic.”

Her bill calls for  $100 million to be earmarked in developing manufacturing centers in the U.S., which would partner with institutes of learning and the private sector.

Blackburn was at her D.C. office and told Todd Starnes, the best-selling author and host of the show, that the Senate is “hard at work” in fighting for small businesses. She said she voiced her concerns about the fate of many small businesses to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin. She said that she heard concern from some business owners that they could be left out from any kind of government stimulus or low-interest loans.

He assured her that these businesses will not be left out, she said.

“What we’re trying to do is to be fiscally responsible and to make the right decisions that are going to be there to support all the families and small businesses and sole proprietors,” she said.