Dear Neighbor,
Like you, I am deeply concerned about the effects of the infant formula shortage on families in Northern Virginia and across the country. As you know, parents and caregivers are struggling to find formula for their babies and children following the temporary shutdown of an Abbott Nutrition plant in Michigan, which accounted for a substantial portion of all formula produced in the United States.
Fortunately, President Biden's administration has reached an agreement with Abbott to swiftly and safely reopen the plant and resume production of formula. At the same time, the administration has worked diligently to put more formula on shelves by invoking the Defense Production Act and ramping up imports of safe formula from abroad -- including by launching Operation Fly Formula, which will utilize contracted commercial planes to speed up the delivery of formula from overseas.
For more information and resources from the Biden administration, click here.
These executive actions are vital to restocking American stores with formula, but there are further steps that only Congress can take to solve this problem.
Yesterday, I joined my colleagues in passing two important pieces of legislation aimed at bolstering the federal government's response to the shortage and ensuring that vulnerable families are better protected during product shortages or recalls.
The first piece of legislation is a supplemental funding bill for the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which plays a vital role in ensuring formula meets nutritional needs and is manufactured in the safest way possible. The bill provides FDA with urgently needed resources to help address the infant formula shortage, increase the number of FDA inspection staff, provide resources for personnel working on formula issues, help the agency stop fraudulent baby formula from entering the marketplace, and improve data collection on the formula market.
The second bill is the Access to Baby Formula Act, which seeks to ensure low-income families are not disproportionately harmed by formula shortages or recalls.
Regrettably, the current shortage has taken a particularly dangerous toll on vulnerable women and children who use the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) benefits to purchase formula. In response, the Access to Baby Formula Act provides flexibility so that low-income families can continue purchasing safe infant formula with their WIC benefits during a crisis, such as a supply chain disruption.
This legislation is particularly important as nearly half of all infant formula is purchased using WIC benefits and 89 percent of WIC participants purchased formula from Abbott Nutrition.
This is an enormously challenging moment for many parents and families, but you are not facing it alone. Please know that my Democratic colleagues and I are laser focused on resolving this shortage and protecting our country against such supply problems in the future.
Please continue to take care of yourselves and each other, and remember that my office is here to help. Be sure to visit my website for more information and resources. If you have any questions or concerns, or if you need assistance, please don't hesitate to call us at (703) 256-3071.
