[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 106 (Wednesday, June 22, 2022)]
[House]
[Page H5812]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      BABY FORMULA SHORTAGE CRISIS

  (Mr. LaMALFA asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. LaMALFA. Madam Speaker, according to a new whistleblower report, 
OSHA had reports of health and safety problems at the Michigan baby 
formula plant all the way back in February 2021. That is a year before 
the plant was indefinitely shut down by FDA and well over a year before 
the Biden administration even acknowledged it.
  The administration knew for at least months, if not well over a year, 
that this crisis would happen with the shortages, but they failed to 
act because they didn't consider it a top-level crisis. Now, over 70 
percent of the Nation's baby formula is out of stock. In what universe 
is that not a top-level crisis?
  How is it possible that our FDA is so incompetent that they sat idle 
for 14 months, knowing full well that American babies and families 
would suffer shortages?
  How inept is the administration that they would admit to knowing 
about this looming crisis for months but ignored it?
  How cruel is the Biden administration that while American parents 
desperately search for formula for their babies, the administration is 
taking it right off the shelves and shipping it down to the border?

  Even the Biden administration's deal with the Abbott plant to restart 
production will take 6 to 8 weeks to put formula back on the shelves. 
People can't wait that long.
  The Biden administration should have addressed this worsening baby 
formula shortage when House Republicans raised the alarm months ago. We 
will hold this administration accountable for this issue.

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