The Department of Health and Human Services said the Trump administration did not distribute supplies from the National Strategic Stockpile to states based on their individual needs during the coronavirus pandemic, according to the House Oversight and Reform Committee.
HHS also told the oversight committee that there was no more personal protective equipment, or PPE, that could be distributed to the states because the Trump administration had already sent out its last shipments.
The remaining 10% of PPE is reserved for federal workers and will not be distributed to states, HHS staff told the committee.
“Now that the national stockpile has been depleted of critical equipment, it appears that the Administration is leaving states to fend for themselves, to scour the open market for these scarce supplies, and to compete with each other and federal agencies in a chaotic, free-for-all bidding war,” committee chairwoman Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney (D-N.Y.) said in a statement.