On Monday’s broadcast of “Democracy Now!,” Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) said that the Biden administration can do more to address the ongoing baby formula shortage, like broader invocation of the Defense Production Act to manufacture formula domestically, buying formula on the global market, and relaxing FDA restrictions on formula from Europe.
Khanna stated, “There is massive concentration in this industry. That’s the root cause. Why is it that only four companies are producing the baby formula? There should have been antitrust action a long time ago.”
He continued, “But, going forward, there are a few key things we can do: First, you could invoke the Defense Production Act, not just to provide the supplies to Abbott. That’s what the president has done. You could actually invoke the Defense Production Act to start manufacturing baby formula in this country. That’s what Roosevelt did when there [were] shortages of production. They should be producing more baby formula, not just at Abbott, but at other facilities, and that is something that we’ve called on the president to do. Second, the president could buy baby formula from the global markets. Right now, they’re simply transporting it. They aren’t actually buying, in the global markets, baby formula to have the stacks in the United States shelved. And third, they should say that if baby formula is safe for European babies, it’s safe for American babies. The FDA could do a lot more in providing that clearance.”
He concluded, “So, I applaud the president for taking steps, but it’s sort of — what happened is there was news made, there was an Oval Office address, and then everyone forgot about it, other than the mothers, who still have to feed their kids.”
Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett
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