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GOP Sen. Mike Lee To Introduce FORMULA Act As Shortage Continues Nationwide

   DailyWire.com
Senator Mike Lee, a Republican from Utah, speaks during a news conference about the nomination of Ketanji Brown Jackson, associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court nominee for U.S. President Joe Biden, at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Thursday, April 7, 2022.
Eric Lee/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Utah Republican Sen. Mike Lee’s office said on Monday that he is finalizing a new bill he hopes to introduce to combat the nation’s growing baby formula shortage.

The Fixing Our Regulatory Mayhem Upsetting Little Americans (FORMULA) Act is designed to address challenges in the baby formula supply chains that have seen the out-of-stock rate for formula tripling from rates just six months ago, according to the senator’s office.

“American babies are going hungry and the federal government is standing in the way. Current policies, tariffs, quotas, bans, and regulations are preventing mothers and fathers from being able to make the best choices to feed their babies,” Lee wrote in a statement.

“My FORMULA Act will give these families relief during this unprecedented shortage.  Congress needs to pass this bill immediately to protect American babies from going hungry,” he added.

Lee noted that the consequences of the formula shortage are tragic for many American families.

“Tragically, families have been forced to search long distances for formula to feed their babies, and children with metabolic diseases, who consume specialized formulas, are also finding it extremely difficult to find the formula they need, putting the health and safety of millions of American children at risk,” an overview of the proposed bill read.

Congress took some heat last Wednesday after announcing that the House Energy and Commerce Committee would hold hearings on the baby formula shortage beginning on May 25.

“Baby formula supplies have dipped below 50% in a handful of states so naturally, as the crisis worsens without an immediate solution in sight, Democrats will take a look at it…in two weeks,” Townhall.com Managing Editor Spencer Brown tweeted, adding, “E&C Chair Frank Pallone (D-NJ) said the ‘nationwide infant formula shortages are increasingly alarming and demand Congress’ immediate attention,’ and then scheduled a hearing — not actual action — for May 25th.”

President Joe Biden held a meeting with baby formula producers and retailers last week, but members of the press received only a briefing on the background of the meeting, The Daily Wire previously reported.

The closed-door discussion with retail companies Walmart and Target and baby formula makers Mead Johnson and Gerber occurred early Thursday afternoon.

Fox News anchor John Roberts first reported that Biden would be holding a meeting to discuss the shortage, but no press would be allowed to cover it. “Correction – @JoeBiden WILL hold a @whitehouse event on the baby formula shortage,” Roberts wrote on Twitter. “There will be NO COVERAGE of the event. Press corps will get a read out in a press call after the event.”

Florida Republican Rep. Kat Cammack also posted videos on social media last week claiming the Biden administration is shipping “pallets” of baby formula to border facilities for migrants.

“They are sending pallets, pallets of baby formula to the border,” Cammack said in online postings on Wednesday. “Meanwhile, in our own district at home, we cannot find baby formula,” she added, displaying a photo that showed empty store shelves.

Cammack said a border agent has been sending her photos of the deliveries of baby formula. “They’re receiving pallets and more pallets of baby formula at the border,” she said. “This was taken at Ursula processing facility [in McAllen, Texas] where thousands are being housed and processed and then released,” she added.

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