ASCP has proposed several recommendations that would help Congress strengthen the Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness Act (PAHPA), which is critical in order for the United States to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic and other public health emergencies. In a March 29 letter to the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, ASCP urged Congress to order a non-partisan review of the U.S. response to the COVID-19 pandemic, develop a pandemic laboratory testing strategy, and invest in the development of the laboratory workforce that is critical to pandemic response. PAHPA must be reauthorized by September 30.
ASCP recommended tasking the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine with conducting a rigorous, scientific review of the U.S. response to COVID-19. ASCP also noted the critical role laboratory testing plays, not just in direct patient care but also in providing much of the data on which our national pandemic response activities depend. As a result, ASCP urged Congress to call for the establishment of a national pandemic testing strategy to ensure laboratories are able to meet the demand for laboratory services during a pandemic.
This proposed strategy recommends the federal government work to provide a reliable laboratory supply chain; prioritize the flow of scientifically-based guidance on newly authorized testing devices, strategies and protocols; ensure robust surveillance for existing and emerging pathogens, and support the development and stability of a robust laboratory professional workforce. ASCP pointed to policies it supported in its March 20 laboratory workforce comments which it urged the Committee to include in PAHPA.
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