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Underwood Works to Address Infant Formula Shortage and Improve Families’ Access to Formula

May 23, 2022

WASHINGTON – Congresswoman Lauren Underwood (IL-14) is focused on ending the infant formula shortage and ensuring families have convenient access to safe and affordable formula.

Last week, to address the shortage, Underwood joined a letter urging the White House to use all the tools at their disposal to increase formula production, including enacting the Defense Production Act to ramp up production of baby formula and focusing on partnering with smaller regional suppliers to build up their production capacity. Underwood also supports ‘Operation Fly Formula', which will bring safe formula from overseas.

"The current infant formula shortage is terrifying for parents, and I'm focused on solving it as quickly as possible. This week, I pressed the Administration to do everything in its power to quickly and safely get formula to store shelves. Additionally, I voted to make more formula accessible to low-income families and allocated federal resources to ensuring this never happens again," said Underwood."We must also hold formula companies accountable for their role in this shortage. This should never happen in America."

During an Appropriations Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Subcommittee hearing, Underwood demanded U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Robert Califf increase the availability of infant formula and ensure parents can make informed decisions about safely accessing the products their infants need. Underwood also pressed the Commissioner to ensure that FDA has processes in place to secure a safe supply of infant formula during public health emergencies to prevent future crises like the current one.

In a letter following the hearing, Underwood followed up on her questioning and urged Commissioner Califf to ensure that inspections at infant formula manufacturing facilities are carried out in a safe and timely manner during public health emergencies. The letter urges FDA to take action to secure a safe and reliable supply of infant formula for families across the United States. Full text of the letter can be found here.

Underwood has also responded to this crisis by voting to pass the Access to Baby Formula Act and Infant Formula Supplemental Appropriations Act, legislation that will improve families' access to infant formula.

The formula shortage has taken a dangerous toll on vulnerable women and children enrolled in Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) benefits to purchase formula. In response, the Access to Baby Formula Act supports low-income families by ensuring they can continue purchasing safe infant formula with their WIC benefits during a crisis, such as a supply chain disruption or public health emergency. The Infant Formula Supplemental Appropriations Act provides the FDA with resources to help address the current infant formula shortage and prevent a crisis like this from ever happening again.

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