[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 158 (Thursday, September 29, 2022)]
[House]
[Pages H8264-H8267]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
BULK INFANT FORMULA TO RETAIL SHELVES ACT
Ms. DelBENE. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the
bill (H.R. 8982) to amend the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United
[[Page H8265]]
States to suspend temporarily rates of duty on imports of certain
infant formula base powder used in the manufacturing of infant formula
in the United States, and for other purposes.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.. 8982
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Bulk Infant Formula to
Retail Shelves Act''.
SEC. 2. TEMPORARY DUTY SUSPENSIONS FOR INFANT FORMULA BASE
POWDER.
(a) In General.--Subchapter III of chapter 99 of the
Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (in the
section referred to as the ``HTS'') is amended by inserting
the following new subheading in numerical sequence:
`` ................. Infant formula base
powder to be used in
manufacturing infant
formula in the
United States,
exported on or
before November 14,
2022, by a party
that has been
determined by the
Food and Drug
Administration to be
authorized to
lawfully market
infant formula in
the United States or
has received a
letter of
enforcement
discretion from the
Food and Drug
Administration
relating to the
marketing of its
infant formula in
the United States:
9903.19.23 Provided for in Free No change No change ''.
subheading
1901.90.62........
(b) Definition and Applicability.--The U.S. Notes to
subchapter III of chapter 99 of the HTS are amended by adding
at the end following:
``21.(a) For purposes of subheading 9903.19.23, the term
`infant formula base powder' means a dry mixture of protein,
fat, and carbohydrates that requires only the addition of
vitamins and minerals in order to meet the definition of the
term `infant formula' in section 201(z) of the Federal Food,
Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 321(z)).
``(b) The necessary proof that an import is a qualifying
infant formula base powder under subheading 9903.19.23 shall
be established by a written notice from the Food and Drug
Administration that the base powder shipment qualifies for
importation under such subheading.
``(c) The duty-free treatment of infant formula base powder
set forth in subheading 9903.19.23 shall apply only with
respect to the importation of an aggregate quantity not
exceeding 2,600 metric tons of such infant formula base
powder.''.
(c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by subsections (a)
and (b) shall apply with respect to goods entered, or
withdrawn from warehouse for consumption, during the period
beginning on the third day after the date of enactment of
this Act and ending at the close of December 31, 2022.
(d) Waiver of Other Duties or Safeguards.-- Notwithstanding
any other provision of law, during the period described in
subsection (c), articles of infant formula base powder that
are classifiable under subheading 9903.19.23 of the HTS, as
added by the amendment made by subsection (a), shall not be
subject to any additional safeguard duties that may be
imposed under subchapter IV of chapter 99 of the HTS.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from
Washington (Ms. DelBene) and the gentleman from Nebraska (Mr. Smith)
each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from Washington.
General Leave
Ms. DelBENE. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members
may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks
and include extraneous material on the bill under consideration.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentlewoman from Washington?
There was no objection.
Ms. DelBENE. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Madam Speaker, I rise today to address the ongoing baby formula
crisis and urge my colleagues to support the Bulk Infant Formula to
Retail Shelves Act.
I raised two kids, and I know the first months of parenthood are
tiring and stressful, even in the best of circumstances. But families
across the country remain in a challenging position as they try to find
formula that they need to feed their babies.
Nationally, 61 percent of formula shelves are still empty. In my home
State of Washington, it has been hit harder, with 67 percent of formula
shelves empty. While that is an improvement from the May nationwide
high of 86 percent, we in Congress have an obligation to do more.
Part of the improvement we have seen over the last few months can be
attributed to legislation that I led with Chairman Blumenauer, Ranking
Member Adrian Smith, and my Ways and Means colleagues back in July that
lifted tariffs on imported baby formula. This Chamber and the Senate
passed the legislation with overwhelming bipartisan support.
There are still more actions, though, that Congress can take to
support families, and that is what this legislation that we will vote
on today will do.
Consider what this legislation would mean to parents. Jessie is a mom
in my district who has been struggling to find formula for her 7-month-
old daughter, Amara. She is not one to ask for help often, but when she
was running low on her last can, Jessie joined a local social media
group where other parents would post where they saw formula on the
shelves. She downloaded an app that would notify her when more cans
were available and made backup plans for donated breast milk if it came
to that.
Jessie was able to find formula in the end but realizes that she is
one of the lucky parents who had the means and the network to support
her daughter. Not all parents have these resources.
The Bulk Infant Formula to Retail Shelves Act would boost domestic
baby formula production and get more product on our shelves. It would
do so by lifting tariffs through the end of the year on safe imported
base powder. This is a key component filled with essential proteins,
fats, and carbohydrates that are mixed with other nutrients and
ingredients to make the formula that parents buy on store shelves or
online.
Lifting these tariffs and getting more formula on physical shelves
would be especially helpful for families participating in the WIC
program, the Women, Infants, and Children program.
For the WIC program, parents must use those resources in brick-and-
mortar retail stores, and they can't be used for online purchases
currently. About half of the baby formula purchased in the United
States is purchased through WIC.
This legislation has strong bipartisan support from the leadership of
the Ways and Means Subcommittee on Trade, Chair Blumenauer, Ranking
Member Adrian Smith, and my subcommittee colleagues, Representatives
John Larson, Dan Kildee, and Drew Ferguson. In the Senate, we are
supported by Senators Mike Lee, Bob Menendez, Todd Young, and Mike
Braun.
Families need our help, and they need it now. Madam Speaker, I urge
my colleagues to support this bill with the same speed and bipartisan
force as they did 2 months ago. We worked hand in hand with our Senate
partners to ensure that this measure would pass immediately. We can't
delay while parents are struggling to feed their children.
Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this legislation, and
I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. SMITH of Nebraska. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I
may consume.
Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of the Bulk Infant Formula to
Retail Shelves Act. I appreciate my colleague, Suzan DelBene, for
working together to help lead this bipartisan effort to further address
our Nation's ongoing infant formula shortage.
It is very disappointing that the administration knew of this looming
shortage for months, actually, before they developed a strategy. So
here we are, 9 months into the crisis, and as yet, as of August, 30
percent of our Nation's baby formula was out of stock nationally for 6
weeks in a row. This is simply unacceptable.
I am glad that we can work together to correct this. We must use
every tool available to increase domestic manufacturing, including
responsibly importing FDA-approved base powder used to manufacture
formula when needed.
The Bulk Infant Formula to Retail Shelves Act builds on the
bipartisan work done in the Formula Act and supports domestic
manufacturing by allowing formula base powder to be imported duty-free
through the end of the year.
[[Page H8266]]
I will continue to work with my colleagues on the Ways and Means
Committee to use trade tools to strengthen critical supply chains like
infant formula.
Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Ms. DelBENE. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from
Connecticut (Mr. Larson), who has been a leader on this issue and who
is an original cosponsor of this legislation.
Mr. LARSON of Connecticut. Madam Speaker, I thank my colleagues Earl
Blumenauer, Adrian Smith, Dan Kildee, and Drew Ferguson for their work
on this bill. I especially thank Congresswoman DelBene for her tireless
leadership in advocating for this issue and bringing Members together
in a bipartisan manner.
For our listeners out there, that isn't as rare a thing as one might
think. But when you have exceptional leadership, and when you have the
grandmother-to-be of an infant on the way, you have a sense of urgency
that this Congress and this Nation desperately needs.
I can't thank her enough for her leadership on this, as well as my
colleagues across the aisle, because we all know that increasing access
and lowering costs for importing base powder is especially important,
as Congresswoman DelBene described, for WIC families because we know
that means lower costs for working families.
This is a prime example of what can happen when we all work together
for the common good. Nothing could be more important than making sure
that Suzan DelBene's future grandchild has appropriate baby formula.
Mr. SMITH of Nebraska. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my
time.
Ms. DelBENE. Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from
Oregon (Mr. Blumenauer), the chairman of the Subcommittee on Trade who
has been an incredible leader on this issue and on the Formula Act that
we passed in July.
Mr. BLUMENAUER. Madam Speaker, is she declaring a conflict of
interest on this legislation? Tongue-in-cheek. Excuse me.
We are all excited, awaiting the good news in terms of her family,
and I think it is appropriate that we have this legislation on the
floor today to help families all across the country.
The complexity that we found out in terms of the infant formula
supply leaves us all scratching our heads in terms of all these
elements.
I appreciate Congresswoman DelBene early zeroing in on this,
mobilizing support, helping refine legislation, and enabling us to act
very quickly.
This is an area that I hope that we will be able to have further
conversations because I think there are issues in terms of healthcare
supply chain and industrial policy.
It isn't, I think, quite so easy to snap our fingers and make sure
that we are protecting this because it is a complicated matter. I know
that at times, there are differences in terms of how much we should be
interfering with the private sector and what they do.
I think this might be an area that we can work together to figure out
ways that we can hit the appropriate balance, meet the need, not be too
intrusive, but make sure we are not behind the curve.
The administration and Congress has made significant progress in this
crisis, invoking the Defense Production Act, increasing the flexibility
of WIC as was referenced, easing restrictions on imports to supply
chain shortages, and enacting our Formula Act to temporarily suspend
tariffs on infant formula.
We are expanding that work today to include formula base powder
imports. Like finish formula, infant formula base powder imports face a
substantial tariff when imported at a time when families need all the
help they can get.
I don't want to take undue time, but I just want to commend our team
working together, sending the appropriate signal, and hope it provides
a foundation for other areas where we might be able to look for ways to
thread that needle to be able to have partnerships with the private
sector and with government to be able to make sure that we deal with
these fragile supply chains.
One of the things the pandemic has demonstrated is how fragile our
supply chains are. The notion, with so many industries dealing with
just in time, puts them in a situation where the supply chain is so
brittle that it produces results that horrify us all, like dumping milk
on the ground because we couldn't get it to producers.
So I hope it leads to a broader conversation about things we can do
to ease the pressures on supply chains and that this is an area where
we can continue to work together and make a difference.
{time} 1345
Mr. SMITH of Nebraska. Madam Speaker, I appreciate this opportunity
that we can work together to remove barriers to getting nutrition to
especially young children. As a father of pretty young kids, I can
appreciate the fact that it is pretty scary for families not being able
to find formula when they previously could.
I think that when we talk about supply chains, as was discussed as
well, we have got a lot of work to do ahead of us, and that we can
hopefully bring about more affordable results for the American people.
Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Ms. DelBENE. Madam Speaker, I thank the ranking member for all of his
support on this legislation. It is something that will impact families
across the country right away. It not only will help to make baby
formula more available, but also to reduce the cost of that formula,
and, in particular, help the families who are using WIC across the
country.
Madam Speaker, I appreciate the strong bipartisan support in the
House and the Senate, and it is important for us to move quickly. I
urge my colleagues to support this legislation, and I yield back the
balance of my time.
Ms. JACKSON LEE. Madam Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 8982, which
amends the Harmonized Tariff Schedule to suspend tariffs on the imports
of formula base powders that are used to manufacture infant formula in
the United States.
The reason why this bill is so important can best be demonstrated by
conversations that I had at the height of the baby formula shortage
earlier this year.
This past spring, 40 percent of baby formula stock that is normally
available nationwide was not available in stores.
Practically the entire country was alarmed at this because so many
American families rely on baby formula, and even among those who don't,
virtually every American knows some family with a young child.
As the founder and Chair of the Congressional Children's Caucus, the
needs of women, families, and children are my consistent priority, and
the unavailability of baby formula amounted to a crisis.
To address the shortage, in May, I hosted a baby formula give-a-way
event in my TX-18th district of Houston.
At the event, I witnessed first-hand the struggles faced by mothers
in need. Constituents came to me with open arms and gratitude for the
opportunity to receive baby formula that they couldn't find in stores.
Many families described the stress and anxiety of not being able to
properly nourish their infant children since baby formula was nowhere
to be found locally or online.
Infants are put at risk of physical and mental impairment without
proper nourishment.
The legislation we are voting on today will dramatically increase
the availability of formula so that children are no longer at risk of
these problems.
By suspending tariffs on base powders for infant formula this bill
would enable us to boost the domestic production that is necessary to
get infant formula back on our shelves in sufficient quantity
nationwide.
The renewed, consistent output and distribution of baby formula
would ameliorate the nationwide short supply of these essential
products that was amplified by pandemic-related supply chain issues.
In response to these shortages, the Food and Drug Administration
exercised selective enforcement of base formula regulations to amend
the importation of safe infant formula from other countries.
Earlier this year, Congress passed the Formula Act, which lifted
steep tariffs on baby formula until the end of this year.
While this alleviated the immediate shortage and parents began to
find baby formula in stores, the Formula Act only suspended tariffs on
infant formula itself and not the ingredients necessary to make it,
There are still high tariffs on infant formula base powders, a key
foundational component necessary for making baby formula products.
[[Page H8267]]
This is an issue that needs to be addressed now because if we do not
have the key components that are needed to make infant formula, then
the current tariff suspensions we have are of no use in the long run.
It is imperative that we eliminate any obstacles in the way of
getting formula back onto the shelves and in the hands of parents
everywhere.
Tariffs are set in place to protect our trade but with the health of
our country's infants at risk, ensuring that baby formula is easily and
consistently available in stores must always remain a priority.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion by the
gentlewoman from Washington (Ms. DelBene) that the House suspend the
rules and pass the bill, H.R. 8982.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the
rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
____________________