The House Oversight Committee is launching an inquiry into the baby formula shortage and is demanding records and information from four of the largest manufacturers.
“The nationwide lack of infant formula poses a threat to the health and economic security of infants and families in communities across the country — particularly those on lower incomes who have experienced health inequalities, including food insecurity, in the past,” the Democratic wrote Chair Carolyn Maloney of New York Letters to Abbott Nutrition, Mead Johnson Nutrition, Nestle USA and Perrigo, first received by ABC News.
The Oversight Committee is the investigative arm of Congress and has broad authority to investigate a wide variety of issues.
The panel examines infant formula price gouging and the steps companies are taking to address shortages.
Also, Maloney specifically asked Abbott Nutrition chairman Chris Calamari for information about the recall of his formula after several babies were hospitalized and two died from a rare bacterial infection in some of his products.
Maloney wants answers to her questions and a briefing from the companies by May 26.
The House Oversight Committee — led by Democratic Rep. Carolyn Maloney of New York (above) — is launching an investigation into the baby formula shortage and is demanding records and information from four of the largest manufacturers
Congress is demanding records and information from four of the largest infant formula manufacturers in the face of the shortage
Republicans, meanwhile, have sounded the alarm after discovering baby formula is being sent to border facilities, while American mothers face empty shelves amid massive shortages.
And President Joe Biden’s administration is struggling to respond, unable to reassure parents when there is more formula on empty grocery store shelves and where to go for help.
GOP representative Kat Cammack tweeted two images Thursday, one showing full shelves of baby formula and groceries from a southern border processing center and another showing empty shelves of what should be baby formula at an American grocery store.
“The first photo is from this morning at the Ursula Processing Center at the US border. Shelves and pallets full of baby food,” wrote Cammack. ‘The second is off a shelf here at home. Formula is tight.’
“This is what America looks like lately,” she added.
Meanwhile, concerned parents are asking the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to reopen the nation’s largest infant formula factory after nationwide shortages left their infants hungry and sick.
But the White House on Thursday defended closing the Abbott plant, but officials couldn’t say when it would reopen.
“The reason we’re here is because the FDA has taken a step to ensure babies are eating safe infant formula. There have been babies who died from taking this formula, so they did their job,” White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said at her daily news briefing.
President Joe Biden made a personal commitment Thursday when he met with executives from infant formula manufacturers and retailers, including Target, Walmart and Nestles Gerber, to discuss the issue.
Biden spoke to manufacturers Reckitt and Gerber about their efforts to ramp up production.
‘Both companies said they are working 24/7 with Gerber and increased the amount of their infant formula available to consumers by approximately 50% in March and April. Reckitt is shipping more than 30% more product year-to-date,” the White House said in a presidential pick.
And his government announced further steps to boost baby food production.
But officials were short on details. They couldn’t say when the Abbott plant would reopen, they couldn’t say when more baby formula would be on sale, and Psaki couldn’t offer options when asked who parents can call for help.
Baby formula shortages have been exacerbated by supply chain problems and historic inflation, leaving about 40% of baby formula products nationwide out of stock, according to data firm Datasembly.
The White House defended the FDA’s closure of the Abbott factory, which led to a shortage of baby formula; “There have been babies who died from taking this formula, so they did their job,” White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said
GOP rep Kat Cammack tweeted outrage Thursday that border centers are stocked with baby formula while American grocery stores are seeing massive shortages and empty shelves where formula should be
Empty shelves at a Target store in San Antonio, Texas
The administration acknowledged the frustration.
“We absolutely recognize the frustration of parents and family,” a senior administration official said at a briefing with reporters, but added, “I don’t have a specific timeline for you,” when asked when parents would feel some relief would see.
Officials also didn’t know when Abbott Nutrition’s Sturgis, Michigan plant — one of the largest manufacturers of infant formula — would come back online.
“Today we don’t have an estimate for the accessibility that will come online. But as we just said, the administration is working around the clock to do whatever it takes to get that much production to market,” the official said.
Abbott said that pending FDA approval, we “could have the site back up and running within two weeks.”
After the start of production, it should take six to eight weeks for the baby food to be available on the shelves.
Steps announced by the government included cutting red tape when it comes to the size of the formula.
“We recognize that this is certainly a challenge for people across the country, something the President is very focused on, and we will do everything we can to cut red tape and take steps to increase supply in the market.” increase,” Psaki said.
Manufacturers typically make containers in multiple sizes of product, and government programs such as WIC often limit what size can be purchased. The administration is working to change these limits to relieve manufacturers and give them the opportunity to rush out a size.
Some manufacturers are ramping up production, Brian Deese, director of the White House National Economic Council, told CNN.
Retailers told Biden, “The most important step we can take now is to give retailers more flexibility in the types of formulas they can sell. And consumers have more flexibility in the types they can buy, especially through the WIC program,” Deese said for low-income families.
Deese didn’t want to speculate on how long the shortages could last.
“All these steps together will make progress. It’s not going to go away on its own in a day or a week,” he said.
Officials also said the government will work to increase imports of baby food but will have more details on this at a later date.
And the government is asking attorneys general to take action against price gouging. Formula has been selling for up to $120 a can as desperate parents try to feed their children.
Biden sent a letter on the matter to Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina Khan on Thursday.
“It is unacceptable for families to lose time and spend hundreds of dollars more because of price gouger actions,” he wrote.
“I therefore call on the Commission to continue to investigate whether infant formula price markdowns are occurring, to thoroughly investigate complaints brought to you through channels such as your fraud hotline and to use all the Commission’s tools if you identify wrongdoing. We know that Attorneys General are also reviewing this issue and can be valuable partners in this effort.’
Parents in Tennessee are hardest hit by baby food shortages, new data from shows
This chart shows how quickly the nationwide crisis has escalated. The scale of the crisis is illustrated by the new analysis, which shows only 43 percent of the usual national supply of baby food is available
Republican Senators Josh Hawley of Missouri and Marco Rubio of Florida have urged the government to use the Defense Production Act to produce more formula.
The White House didn’t rule it out.
“We will keep every option on the table,” the senior administration official said.
Psaki also said it’s an option.
“You have to make sure it actually achieves what you want to achieve,” she said of the law’s application.
The formal shortage is due in part to a voluntary recall of several lines of powdered formulas from Abbott Nutrition, the largest formula maker in the US