[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 106 (Wednesday, June 22, 2022)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E652]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    INTRODUCTION OF THE AFFORDABLE AND ACCESSIBLE INFANT FORMULA ACT

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                          HON. EARL BLUMENAUER

                               of oregon

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, June 22, 2022

  Mr. BLUMENAUER. Madam Speaker, today I am pleased to introduce the 
Affordable and Accessible Infant Formula Act, legislation to 
temporarily suspend tariffs on imported infant formula.
  As we've all seen, families across the country have been facing a 
devastating infant formula shortage. Between the closure of an Abbott 
plant in Michigan in February and general supply chain struggles, out-
of-stock rates for formula have been growing exponentially. At the end 
of May, ten states and fourteen metropolitan areas have out-of-stock 
rates higher than 90 percent. To make matters worse, restarting formula 
production at Abbott's Michigan plan was further delayed after flooding 
from severe storms.
  The Biden-Harris Administration has acted swiftly to respond to the 
crisis. In May, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) took 
unprecedented action to temporarily exercise enforcement discretion to 
increase infant formula in the United States. As of June 10, the Biden-
Harris Administration has secured commitments to import 130.7 million 
bottles of formula.
  The FDA's actions have allowed formula to be imported from around the 
world including Germany, Switzerland, and England. However, infant 
formula faces a substantial tariff when imported from countries without 
a Free Trade Agreement or that are not part of a preference program. As 
infant formula is imported into the United States during this period of 
an infant formula shortage, tariffs will increase the cost of the 
formula by approximately 27 percent on average.
  At a time of unprecedented crisis, the federal government should 
swiftly seek to remove any barriers that exacerbate the crisis. The FDA 
has done this by exercising enforcement discretion. Now, it is up to 
Congress to temporarily suspend the tariffs on imported infant formula 
so that imported formula is affordable for working families. Suspending 
these tariffs for the duration of the FDA's current easing import 
restrictions will lower the cost of infant formula at a time when 
working families and single parents are struggling.
  I urge my colleagues to support this bipartisan legislation and bring 
relief to families across the country.

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