DeLauro Preparing Emergency Funding Bill to Address Baby Formula Shortage
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Rep. Rosa DeLauro, the Connecticut Democrat who chairs the powerful House Appropriations Committee, said Monday that she would be putting forth an emergency appropriations bill to address a shortage of baby formula by funding the purchase of formula from facilities approved by the Food and Drug Administration in European countries and Mexico.
“The federal government needs to step in and do something about this and do something about it immediately,” DeLauro said, charging that Abbott Nutrition, which accounts for more than 40% of the baby formula market, has been putting profit ahead of people. Abbott formula was recalled after contaminated batches of formula were potentially linked to the death of two babies.
Abbott said Monday that it has been working on “corrective actions” and taken steps to mitigate the supply issues and has reached an agreement with the FDA on how to restart production at its Sturgis, Michigan, plant and could resume operations within two weeks. “We are confident that we can continue to produce safe, high-quality infant formula at all of our facilities as we have been doing for millions of babies around the world for decades,” the company said.
DeLauro’s committee is set to hold multiple hearings on the baby formula shortage and the federal regulatory response.
