Yesterday, Rep. Cindy Axne (IA-03) voted with a bipartisan majority of her colleagues to pass two pieces of legislation to combat the ongoing infant formula shortage caused in part by a shutdown at an Abbott manufacturing plant.
The Access to Baby Formula Act would give the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) flexibility to make sure families who depend on WIC to help afford formula can continue to purchase safe infant formula during a supply chain disruption or public health emergency. WIC recipients account for nearly half of all formula sales across the country.
The Infant Formula Supplemental Appropriations Act provides $28 million in emergency funding to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to help address the current shortage, prevent future shortages, and keep fraudulent products from reaching store shelves.
Currently, the out-of-stock rate for infant formula in Iowa is more than 50% and the national out-of-stock rate sits at over 40%.
“As a mom, I know firsthand just how critical it is for families to have access to safe baby formula and the current crisis is leaving families in Iowa and across the country without anywhere to turn. I’ve heard stories from parents in my district who are spending hours trying to hunt down formula, and it’s unacceptable,” said Rep. Axne. “These two much-needed bills will help us get formula in the hands of families and get the shelves stocked again. I’ll continue working hard to address the practices and breakdowns that got us here so no family ever has to go through this again.”
Earlier this week, Rep. Axne wrote to FDA Commissioner Robert M. Califf urging him to continue working to fix the shortage and calling for an FDA plan to prevent another from taking place in the future.
In addition, Rep. Axne and 15 fellow mothers in Congress wrote to President Biden calling on the administration to bolster its efforts to end the baby formula shortage.
Following those letters, President Biden invoked the Defense Production Act to ensure infant formula producers have access to the resources they need to increase supply and will use Department of Defense aircraft to accelerate importation of infant formula.
Original source can be found here.
