After Dr. Rick Bright, a whistleblower and now-ousted director of the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, gave headline-grabbing testimony before Congress on Thursday, a medical supplier whose earlier warnings about the federal government’s meager stockpile of medical equipment also delivered important testimony.
Mike Bowen, the vice president of surgical-mask manufacturer Prestige Ameritech, spoke emotionally about his more-than-a-decade-long frustration with trying to get the federal government to change course and curb its increasing dependence on masks produced in China and Mexico. Bowen claims a lack of action by three administrations helped lead to shortages that ultimately cost lives during the early stages of the coronavirus pandemic in America.
“I’ve said for years we can’t wait until a pandemic happens before we do something about it,” Brown told the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health.