Access to Baby Formula Act of 2022

Floor Speech

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Ms. MOORE of Wisconsin. Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of the Access to Baby Formula Act, bipartisan legislation in response to the infant formula shortage that is affecting the most vulnerable in our communities, our children.

This legislation recognizes the important role that WIC plays in meeting the health and nutrition needs of our nation's mothers, babies, and children.

WIC is the premier public health nutrition program that provides supplemental food aimed at improving the health and well-being of millions of pregnant mothers, infants, and children.

In FY 2021, average monthly WIC participation in my state of Wisconsin was 80,000, including about 19,000 infants.

Studies have proven time and again food is medicine, and that availability of nutritious food reduces adverse maternal and infant health outcomes.

Unfortunately, families across the country are struggling to find formula that their babies need.

The Biden Administration has acted to respond to this shortage and I am pleased that today Congress will build on and support those efforts.

With around half of the formula purchased through WIC benefits, our WIC families are particularly vulnerable which is why it is critical that Congress pass this bill swiftly.

What can be more important than feeding our babies?

This bill authorizes new flexibilities to respond to supply chain or other disruptions such as a recall that adversely affects the ability of WIC agencies and programs to meet the needs of those who rely on the program.

We must do everything in our power to ensure that all babies have access to formula that they may need to start life strong and that includes giving WIC programs and the incredible people who staff them the flexibility they need to provide immediate relief to the families they serve.

I urge support of this bill.

Ms. JACKSON LEE. Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 7791, Access to Baby Formula Act, a bill to amend the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 to establish waiver authority to address certain emergencies, disasters, and supply chain disruptions.

I am a cosponsor of H.R. 7791, and I thank my good friend and colleague Congresswoman Jahana Hayes for introducing this important bill that addresses the ongoing national crisis in shortages of infant baby formula.

I serve on the House Committees on the Budget and Homeland Security both of which have oversight or funding responsibilities for addressing this current crisis.

Many parents know there has been a short supply of baby formula nationwide for months, due to pandemic-related supply chain issues.

That shortage is now a crisis after four children became sick, and two died, after suspected bacterial contamination of formula which originated from Abbott Nutrition's formula plant in Sturgis, Michigan.

This key bill will help improve access to infant formula for vulnerable families during the infant formula shortage crisis.

Infant formula is essential to a baby's early life and development.

The shortage of infant formula has disproportionately affected women and children who rely on WIC benefits to purchase infant formula.

Over fifty percent of the infant formula produced in the United States goes to the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (commonly known as the WIC program).

The infant formula shortage crisis has taken a especially dangerous toll on women and children from underserved communities who use WIC benefits to access infant formula.

The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) helps ensure the health and well-being of low-income women, infants, and children up to ages five who are at an increased nutritional risk.

WIC participation has been associated with improved infant health outcomes--including reduced infant mortality and reduced disparities in hospitalization rates among black and Latino infants.

WIC serves to safeguard the health of low-income women, infants, and children younger than 5 who are at nutritional risk.

About half of infant formula sold nationwide is purchased with WIC benefits.

The baby formula shortage is hitting poorer communities disproportionately hard.

According to an article from CNN, about half of WIC beneficiaries lost access to baby formula when their major supplier, Abbott Nutrition, recalled their products.

The shortage has left all parents with less choices and is adding further pressure to already existing economic disparities.

Recently, I partnered with the National Association of Christian Churches to distribute baby formula to 800 desperate parents at Jack Yates High School to provide help to parents with the greatest need in Houston.

Ovie and Mikayla Cade were two parents of the hundreds that came to the school for formula to feed their baby and looked to Jack Yates High School for relief.

The baby formula give-away provided short-term relief to parents in search of formula to feed their babies.

That is why for the time being I plan to reach out to national disaster organizations to pull together resources to provide immediate support for these families.

This shortage transcends state lines and requires a joint effort on all fronts to get these infants the nutrition they need as quickly as possible.

This bill provides the Department of Agriculture (USDA) the authority to waive certain requirements so that vulnerable families in the WIC program can continue purchasing other safe and available infant formula products with their WIC benefits during extenuating circumstances, such as a public health emergency or supply chain disruption.

The current WIC program has restrictions on which infant formula products a WIC participant can purchase using their WIC benefits.

WIC has limited the types and form of baby formula that can be purchased by families by only allowing powder formula.

The current crisis is an opportunity to remove this limitation on the types of baby formula available to parents and focus on the nutritional needs of babies.

The bill will also ensure that WIC participants are better protected during a product recall.

This is the first time in recorded memory that our nation has had a substantial shortage of infant formula.

Babies are in need and parents and caregivers are desperate to find formula to feed their children.

As the founder and Chair of the Congressional Children's Caucus, I have worked to address the needs of women, families, and children.

Currently, the nationwide out-of-stock rate for baby formula has reached a high of 43 percent.

According to CBS News, more than half of all baby formula products available in Texas are completely sold out, with an out-of-stock rate at 52.5 percent in Houston.

Infants must eat every three to four hours and their formula or breast milk must have certain nutrients in order to provide them with essential nutrition for their growth and development.

The fact that formula feeding exists on a continuum with breast feeding.

There is no substitute for formula feeding because only 1 in 4 infants breastfeed exclusively.

For parents who depend on baby formula either out of choice or necessity, this crisis has the potential of impacting an entire generation of infants for the rest of their lives.

Desperation is overwhelming parents, and some are turning to making their own baby formula at home.

Pediatricians caution against homemade baby formula as it runs the risk of not providing the right amount of nutrients necessary for healthy development.

This crisis was triggered by a manufacturing recall and subsequent closure of a major manufacturing plant as well as pandemic-related supply chain issues.

Specifically, on February 17, Abbott Nutrition--the largest infant formula manufacturer in the country--initiated a voluntary recall of several lines of powdered formula (including Similac, Alimentum, and EleCare) and subsequently closed its large manufacturing facility in Sturgis, Michigan.

The recall and closure of the plant happened because of concerns about bacterial infection at the Sturgis manufacturing facility after four infants fell ill and two died.

Also, at the time of the recall, FDA issued a warning to consumers not to use these recalled products.

President Biden has directed his Administration to work urgently to ensure that infant formula is safe and available for families across the country during the Abbott Nutrition voluntary recall.

Yesterday President Biden spoke with retailers and manufacturers-- including the CEOs of Walmart, Target, Reckett, and Gerber--and called on them to do more to help families purchase infant formula.

President Biden also announced additional steps to get infant formula onto store shelves as quickly as possible without compromising safety. These steps include:

Cutting red tape to get more infant formula to store shelves quicker by urging states to provide consumers flexibility on types of formula they can buy with WIC dollars

Calling on the FTC and state attorneys general to crack down on any price gouging or unfair market practices related to sales of infant formula, like third party sellers re-selling formula at steep prices

The Biden-Harris Administration will continue to monitor the situation and identify other ways it can support the safe and rapid increase in the production and distribution of baby formula.

As a result, more infant formula has been produced in the last four weeks than in the four weeks preceding the recall--despite one of the largest infant formula production facilities in the U.S. being offline.

The CDC has ended its investigation and directs consumers to the Abbott website to get information on the lots recalled and not recommended for use.

The baby formula shortage is not over and the Congress and the Administration must work together to find the solutions parents need to have access to baby formula to feed their infants.

This is not an issue that parents can easily solve at home.

I ask fellow members of the House to join me in voting in favor of H.R. 7791.

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