Biden invokes Defense Production Act for formula
Imports will be a bridge, he says
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden on Wednesday invoked the Defense Production Act to speed production of infant formula, and authorized f lights to import supply as he faces mounting pressure over a domestic shortage caused by the safety-related closure of the country’s largest formula manufacturing plant.
The Defense Production Act order requires suppliers of formula manufacturers to fulfill orders from those companies before other customers in a bid to eliminate production bottlenecks. Biden is also authorizing the Defense Department to use commercial aircraft to fly formula supplies that meet federal standards to the U.S. in what the White House is calling “Operation Fly Formula.”
Supplies of baby formula nationwide have been severely curtailed after a February recall by Abbott Nutrition exacerbated ongoing supply chain disruptions among formula makers, leaving fewer options on shelves and increasingly anxious parents struggling to find nutrition for their children.
“I know parents across the country are worried about finding enough formula to feed their babies,” Biden said in a video statement released by the White House. “As a parent and as a grandparent, I know just how stressful that is.”
The announcement comes two days after the Food and Drug Administration
said it was streamlining its review process to make it easier for foreign manufacturers to begin shipping more formula to the U.S.
In a letter Wednesday to the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Agriculture, Biden directed the agencies to work with the Pentagon to identify overseas supplies of formula that meets U.S. standards so that chartered Defense Department flights can fly it swiftly to the U.S.
“Imports of baby formula will serve as a bridge to this ramped-up production,” Biden wrote.
Regulators said Monday that they’d reached a deal to allow Abbott Nutrition to restart its Sturgis, Michigan, plant, which has been closed since February due to contamination issues. The company must overhaul its safety protocols and procedures before resuming production.
After getting the FDA’s OK, Abbott said it will take 8-10 weeks before new products arrive in stores.
“I’ve directed my team to do everything possible to ensure there’s enough safe baby formula and that it is quickly reaching families that need it the most,” Biden said in the statement, calling it “one of my top priorities.”