A bipartisan bill aimed to reduce the cost of imported baby formula was unanimously approved by the US House in response to the ongoing crisis of infant formula supply.
Democratic Reps. Suzan DelBene of Washington and Earl Blumenauer of Oregon filed HR 8351, also known as the "Formula Act," which would temporarily eliminate tariffs on imported infant formula until the end of the year.
According to Blumenauer's office, tariffs on baby formula imported from nations without a free trade agreement with the US raise the price of the product for customers by an average of 27%.
In a statement on Friday, DelBene said: "This legislation will help alleviate this crisis by lowering the price of imported baby formula from safe and trusted partners abroad while our domestic production catches up."
By a vote of 421-2, the House approved the bill, which will now be considered by the Senate, as reported by CNN. The bill is the House's most recent legislation to alleviate newborn formula scarcity.
Ensuring Infant Formula for Poor Families
In May, President Joe Biden signed the Baby Formula Act into law following its passage in Congress. The law ensures that, in the case of a public health emergency or supply chain issues, such as a product recall, low-income families would still be able to use their WIC benefits to continue purchasing infant formula. The federal aid program is known as the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC).
A bill that would have given the US Food and Drug Administration $28 million in emergency financing to cope with the shortage was also approved by the Democratic-led House in May. The Senate is gridlocked on the bill.
Earlier this year, the lengthy closure of a significant US infant formula mill in Sturgis, Michigan, contributed to the scarcity of baby formula. After a separate three-week suspension brought on by flooding from strong storms, the plant resumed operations on July 1.
Supply Shortage, Prices To Ease in the Coming Weeks
On Wednesday, the Food and Drug Administration made plans to assist foreign manufacturers who have shipped supplies to the United States to fill the gap in supply and get long-term permission to market their infant formula in the country.
The agency will provide a way for baby formula producers temporarily selling in the United States to meet existing regulatory requirements to stay on the market, providing consumers with more choices and making supplies more resilient against current and future shortages.
The FDA will also host meetings and provide producers with a single point of contact to work through the regulatory system to increase the efficiency of the application process, according to NPR.
The massive infant formula plant by Abbott Laboratories in Sturgis, Michigan, began production last week after being shut down in June due to flooding and heavy rainfall.
That happened just two weeks after it had started again after being shut down in February following an FDA investigation that discovered contamination at the factory, as per a report from The Guardian.
According to Abbott spokesman John Koval, the facility resumed production of EleCare, specialized formula for infants with severe digestive issues and food allergies, on July 1.
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