Congressman Sounds Alarm Over Department of Veterans Affairs Purchasing Drugs From China

During the March 23 House Committee on Veterans Affairs hearing, Rep. Greg Murphy( R-N. C. ) pressed Secretary Denis McDonough on a matter that the congressman referred to as an” absolute danger” to the United States.

Murphy, a doctor, was making reference to the VA’s choice and the plan it implemented in 2016 to buy medications that contain active ingredients from China, which are then prescribed and administered to soldiers.

Murphy said,” I don’t learn this insurance.” And we’re just … allowing medicines to enter this country that aren’t being examined, reviewed, or inspected, as well as to be given to our veterans. And as a doctor, I find this to be an absolutely disturbing element.

Veterans’ issues are always at the forefront of Murphy’s legislative and a sensor screen as a member of the Veterans Affairs committee.

One in seven residents of the area he represents are soldiers of any legislative district in the country, which is among the highest amount.

Now there are those who are currently serving in the military in Murphy’s city. The Camp Lejeune Marine Corps center, Cherry Point Marine Corp Air Station, and Coast Guard Base Elizabeth City are all part of Murphy’s area.

At the reading, which focused on evaluating the Biden administration’s suggested VA funding for 2024 and 2025, Murphy and McDonough had a conversation.

The representative discovered that McDonough was aware that the VA had approved pharmaceutical companies that use Chinese components in the production of their products from a conversation they had before the hearing.

Murphy brought up the fact that the GOP Doctors Caucus meeting that morning featured members who” talked about drugs in this country from China ,” claiming that 90 % of our APIs — active pharmaceutical ingredients— come from that country today and that our FDA is doing an abhorrent job of examining these drugs to determine their purity and impurity.

Security Concern

A March 1 story in The Epoch Times reported on how the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) supplies most of the drug precursors processed in Mexico into the deadly drug fentanyl, and most of the illegal fentanyl in the United States comes from Mexico.   

Murphy claimed that the VA’s purchase of pills made from ingredients provided by the CCP puts the protection of the country in jeopardy in addition to the harm and health risks it poses to veterans.

And we are currently at war with our greatest foe, projectile or never, said Murphy. ” We observed this while holding the bubble. This was evident in the massive opioid storm that China was bringing into this nation.

Murphy continued, pleading with McDonough to investigate VA and its system that purchases Chinese-sourced medications.

” I’m ineffable about this, and I don’t understand why this was done, but I’d like a commitment from you— and I know I can stand by this — that this issue will be researched.”

Murphy questioned McDonough about whether the VA could” get out” of the drug agreement it entered into in 2016 and said,” I think for the sake of our veterans, we need to explore that.”

Yes, you have my engagement, Mr. Murphy, McDonough retorted.