WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) – As shortages of personal protective equipment continue around the country, the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the White House say they have a new plan to get the gear to those who need it.
“We get healthier every day when it comes to PPE,” FEMA Administrator Pete Gaynor said Friday.
Administrator Gaynor isn’t shying away from the challenges the country has faced with getting personal protective equipment during the coronavirus crisis.
“The majority of PPE is not manufactured in the US,” Gaynor said.
With a global pandemic, Gaynor says that makes it harder to get and is something President Donald Trump wants to change.
At a medical distributor in Allentown, Pennsylvania on Thursday, the president vowed to replenish the Strategic National Stockpile with American-made products.
“To be more independent, more self-sufficient and more resilient,” Gaynor added.
Gaynor said the president’s move helps them get towards their goal of getting more PPE to those who need it.
Lawmakers on Capitol Hill said they’re trying to do their part too.
“Well there’s no question that our supply is stressed,” Rep. Buddy Carter (R-GA) said Friday.
He said Congress has done its best to help by adding funding specifically for PPE in relief bills.
“Actually, I think we’ve done a pretty good job with that, obviously we need more and we’re not gonna stop until we get everything that we need.”
The House votes Friday on another $3 trillion in funding – some of that for increased production and delivery of PPE.
But Carter and other House Republicans said the bill is full of unnecessary partisan spending.
The relief package isn’t expected to pass in the Republican-controlled Senate, leaving more funding for more protective gear stalled.