WASHINGTON — The Biden administration said on Thursday it was working to address a worsening nationwide infant formula shortage, announcing efforts to accelerate production and increase imports as pressure mounted to respond to a crisis involving desperate parents search empty shopping aisles to feed their children. †
Officials outlined the plan after President Biden met with retailers and manufacturers, including Walmart, Target, Reckitt and Gerber, about their efforts to increase production. They also discussed steps the federal government could take to help supply the empty shelves, particularly in rural areas, according to senior officials who spoke on condition of anonymity to detail the conversation.
After the meeting, the White House announced a series of modest measures to increase supply, including states to waive packaging regulations so manufacturers can get the formula on store shelves faster. The government is also instructing the Federal Trade Commission and state officials to act against price pushes and calling on companies to set purchasing limits, the officials said.
And they said the Food and Drug Administration would announce in the coming days that the United States would start importing more formulas. They cited Mexico, Chile, Ireland and the Netherlands as the main sources of such imports.
Still, the officials admitted that Americans wouldn’t necessarily see immediate relief.
The announcement came as Republicans, stepping up their attacks on Mr. Biden and Democrats ahead of the congressional midterm elections, sought to fuel the baby food shortage. It was further evidence for their claim that unified Democratic rule in Washington had led to inflation, high gas prices and other economic challenges, they said.
“The steps the president has taken today are an acknowledgment and an acknowledgment that more needs to be done,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Thursday. “Our message to parents is, we hear you, we want to do everything we can and we’re going to cut through all the red tape to tackle this and make it better for you, to get formulas on the shelves.”
The shortage is expected to last for months as the government and retailers try to address a production shortage that started in February after a voluntary recall of several lines of formula powder. That month, Abbott Nutrition, the nation’s largest infant formula manufacturer, had to close its factory in Sturgis, Michigan, amid concerns over bacterial contamination after four infants became ill, two of whom died.
Senior government officials said on Thursday they had no estimate for when the factory would reopen, or when parents shopping for baby food would see an increase in the products on the shelves. When asked what agency Americans should contact if they couldn’t find a formula, Ms. Psaki acknowledged the limits of how the government could help. “We would definitely encourage any parent concerned about their child’s health or well-being to call their doctor or pediatrician,” she said.
In the meantime, officials said they were encouraging states to reduce regulations on manufacturers, such as package size requirements, so they could streamline and increase production.
The Biden administration is under mounting political pressure to address the crisis, not only from Republicans who have included it in their midterm playbook, but also from Democrats who face challenging reelection contests.
“I’m not satisfied until there’s food on the shelves,” Virginia Democrat Representative Abigail Spanberger, who is up for re-election, said in an interview. She said that immediately after appearing on television to discuss the shortfall, she received a call from Ron Klain, the White House chief of staff.
“They are working on it with a high degree of urgency,” said Ms Spanberger. “Can they convey it more aggressively? I wish everyone was apoplectic about it.”
She added that she and Mr Klain had discussed invoking the Defense Production Act to increase production, and officials had indicated they are considering the move. She said they were also talking about eliminating tariffs that would allow the United States to get imported formula onto U.S. shelves faster.
House Democrats have announced two hearings on the issue in the next two weeks.
At a news conference on Capitol Hill on Thursday, House Republicans blamed Mr. Biden for the deficit, saying his administration had failed to plan for it and called it its latest failure to address the economic challenges facing voters. .
The focus on the formula crisis echoed the message Republicans hoped would bring them victories in November: that Mr. Biden and Democrats have been lax on issues like inflation and rising gas prices that matter most to ordinary Americans.
New York Republican Representative Elise Stefanik said the government should have had a plan for the deficit months ago, while others accused the president of simply making family life more difficult across the board.
Navigating the US Baby Food Shortage
A growing problem. A nationwide baby food shortage – caused in part by supply chain problems and exacerbated by a recall from baby food manufacturer Abbott Nutrition – has left parents confused and concerned. Here are some ways to deal with this uncertainty:
“My son, Sam, is 9 months old; he’s bottle-fed,” said Mrs. Stefanik, the No. 3 House Republican, noting that parents were earning high gas bills as they drove around looking for bottle-feeding. “The shelves were fairly empty.”
While the event was aimed at the most basic of human needs, far-right Republicans transformed it into a forum for airing some of their favorite attacks on Mr. Biden, trying to link the formula shortage to his border policies and even attempts to to reduce drugs. overdoses.
“Photos are surfacing today from the border where the Biden administration has sent pallets of baby food to illegal mothers and their babies, while American mothers and babies can’t find baby food,” Georgia Republican Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene said.
A White House official said it has been required by law since 1997 for border officials to have food, including baby food, for people and babies in custody. The official noted that the Trump and George W. Bush administrations followed that policy.
Florida Republican Representative Mike Waltz and the father of a 4-month-old child, claimed he was working with colleagues before the press conference.
“Think about the fact that in Joe Biden’s America it seems like it’s easier to get a crack pipe in a government-funded smoking kit than it is to find baby food,” he said.