Big questions remain about formula shortage relief plan
WASHINGTON — Administration officials struggled Thursday to explain how President Joe Biden’s decision to invoke a Cold War-era statute will help alleviate the shortage of baby formula that has left desperate parents searching for ways to feed their infants.
On Wednesday, Biden authorized the use of the Defense Production Act in an effort to ensure that formula manufacturers had access to the ingredients and materials they need to ramp up production. Shortages developed after Abbott Laboratories, which controls 48% of the baby formula market, voluntarily recalled some of its most popular products in February and shuttered a plant in Sturgis, Michigan, over concerns about possible contamination.
But a senior administration official, who spoke Thursday on the condition of anonymity, declined to say whether any formula companies reported having trouble getting ingredients or materials in a timely manner.
In response to questions about the potential impact of the president’s decision, the official repeatedly said the administration was “having active and ongoing conversations with the companies” but declined to say what the companies had requested or even whether the firms had identified problems needing government assistance.
The official also could not answer how much faster the administration believed formula would reach consumers with the invocation of the Defense Production Act. And the official declined to explain why Biden did not authorize the use of the law weeks or months ago, when the
shortages began.
The official said only that the administration had “been clear from the outset that we are going to pull every lever that we can find when we need to deploy a lever” and added that invoking the Defense Production Act “builds on” previous actions that the administration has taken.
Biden’s White House has accelerated its response to the shortage of baby formula in recent days as media reporting about the impact on families has increased. This week, there have been several reports of small children and infants who were taken to hospitals because their parents could not find the specialized baby formula they needed.
On Monday, the Food and Drug Administration announced it would relax guidelines for imports of baby formula from other countries. On Wednesday, Biden also announced a plan to use planes contracted by the Defense Department to help speed the import of formula.
A second administration official on Thursday said companies with formula to ship into the United States could use the Defense Department planes after “some negotiations.” The formula would be flown to the companies’ U.S. facilities
to be inspected by the FDA before being distributed to retail locations.
The first administration official said the White House was “actively in conversations and discussions with manufacturers about where there might be cargo around the world that would be suitable for that procedure.” The official declined to reveal which companies the administration was engaging with.
The Defense Production Act was created to give the government the power to ensure the flow of weapons during wartime. Earlier this year, Biden invoked the law to increase domestic production of critical minerals and metals needed for technologies like electric vehicles.
Several congressional Democrats on Wednesday praised the president for taking action, saying that the administration should do everything possible to resolve the shortages. Some Republicans, however, criticized the administration for misusing the act.
“It seems the administration has no use for the word ‘defense’ in Defense Production Act,” Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa., said in a statement. He accused Biden of “misusing the DPA statute every time there’s a temporary product shortage.”