I 
117TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1466 
To require the purchase by the Federal Government of certain medical sup-
plies and protection equipment from the United States, and for other 
purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 1, 2021 
Mr. MCHENRY (for himself and Mr. PASCRELL) introduced the following bill; 
which was referred to the Committee on Armed Services, and in addition 
to the Committees on Homeland Security, Energy and Commerce, Vet-
erans’ Affairs, Education and Labor, Ways and Means, Natural Re-
sources, and Oversight and Reform, for a period to be subsequently deter-
mined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions 
as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To require the purchase by the Federal Government of cer-
tain medical supplies and protection equipment from the 
United States, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘American PPE Supply 
Chain Integrity Act’’. 
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SEC. 2. REQUIREMENT TO PURCHASE CERTAIN MEDICAL 
SUPPLIES 
AND 
PERSONAL 
PROTECTIVE 
EQUIPMENT FROM THE UNITED STATES. 
(a) COVERED SECRETARIES.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), 
any covered item purchased by a covered Secretary 
shall be from the United States. For purposes of 
this subsection, ‘‘from the United States’’ means 
that 100 percent of a product is grown, reprocessed, 
reused, or produced in the United States. 
(2) EXCEPTIONS.—Notwithstanding paragraph 
(1), the applicable covered Secretary may waive the 
requirements of such paragraph if such covered Sec-
retary determines that satisfactory quality and suffi-
cient quantity of any such covered item from the 
United States cannot be procured as and when need-
ed at United States market prices. This subsection 
shall not apply to covered items that are or that in-
clude materials determined to be non-available in ac-
cordance with section 25.104 of title 48 of the Fed-
eral Acquisition Regulation. 
(b) EXCEPTION
FOR
SMALL
PURCHASES.—Sub-
section (a) shall not apply to purchases for amounts not 
greater than $150,000. A proposed purchase or contract 
for an amount greater than $150,000 may not be divided 
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into several purchases or contracts for lesser amounts in 
order to qualify for this exception. 
(c) APPLICABILITY.—The requirements of this sec-
tion shall apply with respect to a purchase of a covered 
item made pursuant to subsection (a) on or after the date 
of the enactment of this Act. 
(d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
(1) COVERED ITEM.—The term ‘‘covered item’’ 
means an article or item of— 
(A) personal protective equipment (includ-
ing surgical masks, respirator masks and pow-
ered air purifying respirators and required fil-
ters, face shields and protective eyewear, sur-
gical and isolation gowns, and head and foot 
coverings) or clothing, and the materials and 
components thereof, other than sensors, elec-
tronics, or other items added to and not nor-
mally associated with such personal protective 
equipment or clothing; 
(B) sanitizing and disinfecting wipes, pri-
vacy curtains, beds and bedding, testing swabs, 
gauze and bandages, tents, tarpaulins, covers, 
or bags; or 
(C) cotton and other natural fiber prod-
ucts, woven silk or woven silk blends, spun silk 
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yarn for cartridge cloth, synthetic fabric or 
coated synthetic fabric (including all textile fi-
bers and yarns that are for use in such fabrics), 
canvas products, or wool (whether in the form 
of fiber or yarn or contained in fabrics, mate-
rials, or manufactured articles). 
(2) COVERED SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘covered 
Secretary’’ means the Secretary of Health and 
Human Services, the Secretary of the Department of 
Homeland Security, and the Secretary of the De-
partment of Veterans Affairs. 
SEC. 3. PROCUREMENT OF PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIP-
MENT. 
(a) LIMITATION.—Not later than 90 days after the 
date of the enactment of this Act, the President or the 
President’s designee(s) shall promulgate regulations— 
(1) to prohibit the use by any department or 
agency of the Federal Government of reverse auc-
tions or lowest price technically acceptable con-
tracting methods for the procurement of personal 
protective equipment if the level of quality or failure 
of the item could result in exposure to infection, ill-
ness, or death; and 
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(2) to establish a preference for the use of best 
value contracting methods for the procurement of 
such equipment. 
SEC. 4. MODIFICATION TO SMALL PURCHASE THRESHOLD 
EXCEPTION TO SOURCING REQUIREMENTS 
FOR CERTAIN ARTICLES. 
Subsection (f) of section 604 the American Recovery 
and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (6 U.S.C. 453b) is amend-
ed to read as follows: 
‘‘(f) EXCEPTION FOR SMALL PURCHASES.— 
‘‘(1) Subsection (a) does not apply to purchases 
for amounts not greater than $150,000. A proposed 
purchase or contract for an amount greater than 
$150,000 may not be divided into several purchases 
or contracts for lesser amounts in order to qualify 
for this exception. 
‘‘(2) On October 1 of each year evenly divisible 
by 5, the Secretary of Homeland Security may ad-
just the dollar threshold in this subsection based on 
changes in the Consumer Price Index. The Secretary 
shall publish notice of any such adjustment in the 
Federal Register, and the new price threshold shall 
take effect on the date of publication.’’. 
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