Biden invokes Defense Production Act in formula shortage
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden on Wednesday invoked the Defense Production Act to speed production of infant formula and authorized flights to import supply from overseas, as he faces mounting political 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 an effort to eliminate production bottlenecks. Biden is also authorizing the Defense Department to use commercial aircraft to fly formula supplies that meet federal standards from overseas to the U.S.
Supplies of baby formula across the country have been curtailed in recent weeks after a February recall by
Abbott Nutrition exacerbated ongoing supply chain disruptions among formula makers, leaving fewer options on store shelves.
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 into the U.S.
Regulators said Monday that they’d reached a deal to allow Abbott Nutrition to restart its Sturgis, Michigan,
plant, the nation’s largest formula 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 eight to 10 weeks before new products begin arriving in stores. The company didn’t set a timeline to restart manufacturing.
The White House actions came as the Democratic-led
House approved two bills Wednesday addressing the shortage.
One bill passed by a vote of 414-9. It would give the secretary of the Agriculture Department the ability to issue a narrow set of waivers in the event of a supply disruption. The other measure, a $28 million emergency spending bill to boost resources at the FDA, passed by a mostly party-line vote of 231-192. It’s unclear whether the Senate will go along.