Trump to sign order in Ohio requiring government to buy US-made essential medicines

President Trump will announce a Buy American executive order requiring the government to purchase essential drugs and medical supplies from domestic manufacturers instead of overseas. The order, which Trump will sign on Thursday at Whirlpool Corporation's manufacturing plant in Clyde, Ohio, instructs government agencies, including the departments of Veterans Affairs, Health and Human Services, and Defense, to procure certain drugs and medical products from U.S. manufacturers. White House Office of Trade and Manufacturing Director Peter Navarro said the effort to "catalyze" advanced manufacturing was a "top priority" for the president. The trip also marks Trump's latest to a battleground state less than three months from Election Day.

In Ohio, Trump's likely Democratic opponent Joe Biden leads the president by 2.3 percentage points in an average of polls. In 2016, Trump won Ohio by 8 points. But in 2016, at this point in the race, Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton led Trump in a majority of polls. The president campaigned on the promise to return manufacturing jobs to the United States, and Trump is expected to highlight efforts by his administration to boost jobs and return industry to the country. Last week, Trump announced a deal with Eastman Kodak to manufacture generic pharmaceuticals.

Navarro, who called Thursday's order "pure Trump" in a call with reporters Thursday, said that a "base level" of demand from the U.S. government was needed for such domestic manufacturing initiatives to succeed. "Buy American is one of the oldest rules we have in the American government," Navarro said. "It allows us, for example, with iron and steel and other manufactured goods purchased by the government, to maintain a certain level of manufacturing and defense industrial base." He added, "It's not an appropriations bill."

The order directs the Food and Drug Administration and the Environmental Protection Agency to speed the review process for domestic manufacturers of pharmaceutical ingredients and essential medicines. It also targets the trafficking of counterfeit medicine from third-party online sellers. Navarro said that without these interventions, "We're going to continue to see our supply chains go offshore because of these pollution havens, tax havens, and sweatshops." "You see a country like Ireland punching very, very high above its weight, simply because of its tax advantages," said Navarro. "You see China and India, Russia, Brazil, Turkey, others, dominating other parts of the chain." Trump is also scheduled to attend a fundraiser in Ohio today.

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/trump-to-sign-order-in-ohio-requiring-government-to-buy-us-made-essential-medicines

'I will not be adjourning the Senate': McConnell scraps recess over stalled aid talks

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell announced Thursday the chamber will be back in session Monday and he would not gavel out for the traditional summer recess. The Kentucky Republican blamed Democrats for failing after two weeks of talks to negotiate a deal on a coronavirus aid package that both parties deem critical for helping the nation cope with the continued outbreak. “A second straight week of political theater from our Democratic colleagues with no result except more pain for families, more uncertainty for workers, and more evidence to suggest that perhaps Democratic leaders were never serious about getting something accomplished in the first place,” McConnell said Thursday morning in a Senate floor speech. Democrats and White House officials have been meeting privately nearly every day for two weeks but have not been able to agree on a compromise between the $1 trillion GOP-authored proposal and the $3.4 trillion package Democrats are now seeking.

The Democrat-controlled House is not in session, but lawmakers could be called back to the Capitol to vote on a package if an agreement is reached. McConnell said he’s not leaving town. “The Senate will be convening on Monday, and I’ll be right here in Washington,” McConnell said. “The House has already skipped town, but the Senate won’t adjourn for August unless and until the Democrats demonstrate they will never let an agreement materialize.” Democrats have yielded little in the talks, offering only to lower their $25 billion demand to bail out the United States Postal Service to $10 billion.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and White House chief of staff Mark Meadows said the two sides remain “trillions” of dollars apart. McConnell’s recess announcement follows a warning by Trump officials that the president will take executive action to provide coronavirus aid if significant movement isn’t made on a bipartisan deal by Friday. “I think we need to see some real compromise on some of the big issues,” Mnuchin said Wednesday. "And if we can reach a compromise on these big issues, I think everything else will fall into place. If we can't reach an agreement on these mitigations, then I don't see us coming to an overall deal. And then, we'll have to look at the president taking actions under his executive authority.”

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/congress/i-will-not-be-adjourning-the-senate-mcconnell-scraps-recess-over-stalled-aid-talks

>>10200463

Will do..