Press release:
Congressman Chris Jacobs (NY-27) voted in favor of the Access to Baby Formula Act (H.R. 7791) when it passed the House of Representatives last night.
“Months ago, Abbott Nutrition issued a voluntary recall of their baby formula products and shut down their plant in Sturgis, Michigan while the FDA conducted inspections. The Sturgis facility is a major portion of the domestic supply of baby formula – yet the President and his administration sat on their hands for months, as the strain on domestic supply became a crisis,” Jacobs said. “Last night I voted in favor of the bipartisan Access to Baby Formula Act developed by the Education and Labor Committee of which I am a member. This bill provides flexibilities for the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Children, and Infants (WIC) so that recipients can use their benefits to purchase what formula stores have on the shelves. This legislation helps new mothers, especially lower income families, access necessary supplies and develops a process to deal with future supply chain issues so a crisis like this does not happen again. I will proudly support tangible and meaningful solutions to this problem.”
The Access to Baby Formula Act would provide additional resources and protections to the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) program to ensure the FDA and USDA can act quickly in the event of a supply chain crisis to protect WIC recipients and ensure access to critical supplies – especially formula.
Today, Jacobs cosponsored the Babies Need More Formula Now Act to increase supply, require a plan from the FDA, expand choices for parents, and improve the recall process. Jacobs has also cosponsored the Formula Act that would direct the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to create a new set of international standards to cut red tape and allow for increased formula imports to supplement domestic supply. Additionally, Jacobs also sent a letter to the President last week expressing the urgency with which the administration needed to act and outlining additional action.
