House passes spending measure aimed at addressing baby formula shortage

The House passed legislation aimed at providing $28 million in emergency funding to the Food and Drug Administration to address the nation’s baby formula shortage in a 231-192 vote Wednesday.

The Infant Formula Supplemental Appropriations Act, introduced by House Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Rosa DeLauro (D-CT), includes language that looks to prevent “fraudulent products from entering the United States market” and prevent future shortfalls in supplies.

The shortage comes in the wake of one of the nation’s largest producers of infant formula, Abbott Nutrition, voluntarily recalling three types of its product after multiple babies contracted bacterial infections. Roughly 40% of formula has been out of stock since the end of April, and supply chain disruptions have exacerbated the crisis.

Proponents of the measure argued the bill is necessary to navigate the crisis moving forward.

“We've all heard from constituents all over this country that parents are scared," DeLauro said on the floor ahead of the vote. "They can't find the product, and they're scared that they're going to have a product that may put their child in danger. So we need to address two areas: We need to address the immediate crisis to get products on the shelves as soon as we can, which is what this bill does tonight, along with other measures that the administration is taking.”