Washington, D.C. – Today, Congresswoman Elise Stefanik led a press conference with her House Republican colleagues to highlight the nationwide baby formula shortage and demand action from the Biden Administration.
A transcript of her remarks can be found below:
Today, I’m joined by my colleagues with the House Republican Conference.
Right now, families across America are struggling to feed their babies due to a horrific nationwide baby formula shortage.
And I cannot think of a more harrowing, panicked crisis for parents to face than desperately trying to find food and formula for their newborn babies.
I’ve led on this issue since February, and we, as House Republicans, continue to demand answers from the FDA. And unsurprisingly, when I reached out in February, from my office to the FDA, we received no substantive response.
Joe Biden simply has no plan. In fact, when Joe Biden’s White House was asked about the shortage, they laughed. Shameful. Make no mistake, there is nothing laughable or funny about this crisis.
As a new mother, I understand personally the severity of this challenge. My son, Sam, is nine months old. He is formula fed, and even in my trips to the grocery store in upstate New York, the shelves have been fairly empty.
And there was an article just today about families having to drive hours to access stores that have formula. Think about the cost of gas for families on limited income.
So, today House Republicans are here to push for action from the FDA and the Biden Administration, who should have had a plan for this shortage MONTHS ago. Instead, Bare Shelves Biden has continued to pass the buck.
Biden and the FDA need to work directly with the manufacturers and hospitals to make sure that we have an adequate supply of baby formula and make sure that parents know where to go if the shelves are empty at the store.
Think about this: children – babies – have been put to bed hungry while parents are desperately trying to find alternative formulas that are often difficult to procure. This is not a third world country. This should never happen in the United States of America.
We are unified in demanding action to address this crisis.
