Pentagon Using Taxpayer Funds to Buy More COVID Tests Made in China

In the wake of the Biden administration's decision to offer no-cost COVID tests to Americans, the Pentagon announced on Friday that the Department of Defense, working with the Department of Health and Human Services, awarded contract modifications to two companies to purchase 138 million over-the-counter COVID tests. But there's a problem.

The contracts announced by the Pentagon are with Roche Diagnostics Corporation and Siemens Healthineers.

Pentagon says it has awarded contracts to purchase 138 million over-the-counter COVID-19 test kits from @Roche and @SiemensHealth. pic.twitter.com/fZtMaTh1qT
— Dan Linden (@DanLinden) February 18, 2022

In at least the case of the Siemens test, the company's site directs readers to an Amazon listing for their at-home antigen rapid tests which reveal an obvious conclusion: the country of origin is China. The other company, Roche Diagnostics, doesn't have as readily available information on its test kits. But a release on an earlier contract mentions the tests are produced with Roche partner SD Biosensor, a South Korean manufacturer. Better than China, but still not great to know that the United States is dependent on other countries for supplies used in a public health emergency.

The revelation that the Department of Defense is forking over taxpayer cash to China in order to provide COVID tests is unsurprising for anyone who ordered and received the "free" tests the Biden administration is distributing via the United States Postal Service. As my colleagues at RedState and PJ Media have reported, many of those tests arrive emblazoned with "MADE IN CHINA." And as Katie reported, those tests might not even be accurate depending on the where and how they're shipped.

All of these federal government purchases are, of course, made using taxpayer dollars. And a lot of those dollars are going to enrich communist China as its leaders engage in active suppression of its citizens, a genocide of Uyghurs, and refuses to allow international inspectors to have access for their investigations into the origins of COVID. Deals like the one the Pentagon signed to buy more China-made products send a clear message to the CCP that it can continue its evil ways without any meaningful punishment from the Biden administration.

In addition to COVID tests that the Biden administration sourced from China, many members of Congress were shocked recently to see that the K/N95 masks being provided to them were also stamped with MADE IN CHINA.

KN95 masks supplied to lawmaker offices by the Office of the Attending Physician… are stamped “MADE IN CHINA”.

Some members aren’t happy.

The Capitol Attending physician recently ordered masks be upgraded to N95 or KN95’s bc of Omicron… they’re required on the House floor. pic.twitter.com/SDoVj887gy
— Jacqui Heinrich (@JacquiHeinrich) January 13, 2022

As Townhall reported last week, Rep. Yvette Herrell (R-NM) is leading the charge to make the United States independent of foreign powers when it comes to critical pharmaceuticals and medical products. Her bill, the Protecting American Lives (PAL) Act of 2022, would be a strong first step toward getting the United States out of its current weak position of dependence on other countries — especially evil empires like China — and able to produce and distribute needed medical products here at home.