Majority Leader Schumer Floor Remarks On Actions Being Taken To Address The Baby Formula Shortage

Washington, D.C. –  Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) today spoke on the Senate floor on the urgent need for Senate consideration of bipartisan legislation to address the baby formula shortage. Below are Senator Schumer’s remarks, which can also be viewed here:

Yesterday, President Biden invoked the Defense Production Act to respond to the shortage of baby formula that’s hurting parents and caretakers of newborns across the country. The president is taking the issue seriously and invoking the DPA was exactly the right response.

I cannot imagine how hard this shortage is for families who have been impacted. There is already such a burden on the mother of a newborn child and we cannot let this formula shortage be another stressor for mothers in this country.

The Senate should likewise take action to help our nation’s parents. Yesterday, the House passed a pair of bills to address the baby formula shortage, including one with over 400 votes that will make sure that parents who rely on federal nutrition programs can continue to access baby formula in the face of supply chain shortages. I hope the Senate will pass both of these bills.

Here in the Senate, Senator Stabenow and Senator Boozman are championing near identical legislation to the bipartisan WIC bill that overwhelmingly passed the House. I hope the Senate can consider this bill immediately and send it to the President, so we can send swift and tangible assistance to working parents feeling the brunt of this current shortage.

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