ADVOCACY
Safeguarding the Safety Equipment Supply Chain ISEA worked with lawmakers to add respirators to the PREP Act, fight counterfeit products, build a more resilient safety equipment supply chain and more
H
ealthcare workers and first responders urgently needed personal protective equipment, such as respirators, while on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic. ISEA collaborated with the National Institute for Occupational Health and Safety (NIOSH) to bring NIOSH-approved respirators to market, moving swiftly to safeguard people’s health and safety in a time of crisis. But the organization’s work was only beginning. From educating legislators and the public on PPE fraud and counterfeit products to working with the U.S. government to futureproof the safety equipment supply chain against disruptions, ISEA has been in the trenches of the fight for safe and effective PPE.
SHORING UP THE AT-RISK RESPIRATOR SUPPLY As the demand for NIOSH-approved N95 respirators exploded in 2020, safety equipment companies faced a distressing dilemma: Ramping up production to meet respirator demand posed legal risks for companies and health risks for their employees. ISEA members went to Congress with a solution: Add NIOSH-approved respirators to the Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness (PREP) Act. This law would shift the liability of items needed for a public health emergency response to the federal government. In the House of Representatives, Don Bacon (R-NE), Paul Tonko (D-NY) and Jim Langevin (D-RI) were the first to step forward, co-sponsoring a bill to add respirators to the PREP Act. Senators Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) and Deb Fischer (R-NE) offered the companion bill in the Senate. Their action gave then-Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) legislative text to add to the CARES Act he was drafting at the time. Thanks to these six elected officials, Sections 3012 and 3013 of the CARES Act added respirators to the PREP Act. The bill became law on March 27, 2020.
TIMELINE
2020 [CONTINUED]
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INT ERNATIONAL SAFETY E QUI P M E N T ASSOCI ATI ON
