WASHINGTON – Sen. Chuck Grassley
(R-Iowa), a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, recently joined
Agriculture Committee Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) and Ranking Member
John Boozman (R-Ark.) to introduce bipartisan, bicameral legislation to address
the baby formula shortage for families who rely on the Special Supplemental
Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC).
The bill, known as the Access to Baby Formula Act, passed the
Senate unanimously today and now heads to President Biden’s desk.
“Both now and in the future, we must
ensure all families are able to purchase formula needed to feed their infants.
That’s why I was proud to support the Access to Baby Formula Act, which will help families utilizing the WIC program
while also taking necessary steps to prevent a dangerous baby formula shortage
from ever happening again,” Grassley
said.
The WIC program provides information on
healthy eating and helps millions of families buy nutritious foods, including
baby formula. The Access to Baby Formula Act gives the U.S. Department
of Agriculture (USDA) the authority they need to be more flexible during a
crisis – such as a natural disaster, public health emergency or a supply
shortage. This flexibility would ensure that the brand or type of formula
families can buy is not restricted by program rules, allowing families to
purchase whatever is available in the store.
In addition, the legislation would
require that formula manufacturers that provide formula for individuals who
rely on WIC have a plan in place to respond to a shortage so that families will
be able to purchase the formula they need.
In addition to Grassley, Stabenow and Boozman,
the legislation is cosponsored by Sens. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Roger Marshall
(R-Kan.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Shelley Moore Capito (R-W. Va.), Cory
Booker (D-N.J.), John Hoeven (R-N.D.), Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Thom Tillis
(R-N.C.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Susan Collins (R-Maine), Raphael Warnock
(D-Ga.), Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), Deb Fischer (R-Neb.), Amy Klobuchar
(D-Minn.), John Cornyn (R-Texas), Bob Casey (D-Pa.), Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.),
Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill) and Mark
Kelly (D-Ariz.).
This week, Grassley also
joined an effort to get baby formula back on grocery store shelves by temporarily
waiving certain trade barriers to open up imports of safe formula produced abroad.
Recently, he also
successfully pressed the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for answers on what actions
they were taking to immediately avert this dangerous shortage.
A summary of the bill is available
HERE.
Text of the bill is available
HERE.
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