MORGANTOWN – Sen. Shelley Moore Capito praised President Biden on Thursday for his actions to alleviate the baby formula shortage.
“I was really happy that the president invoked the Defense Production Act so we can produce more,” she said during a Zoom meeting with West Virginia reporters.
In a memorandum issued Thursday, Biden said adequate supply of infant formula is critical to the health and safety of the millions of children who depend on the formula for essential nutrition. This disruption threatens the continued functioning of the national infant formula supply chain, undermining critical infrastructure that is essential to the national defense, including to national public health or safety.
He authorized his agency heads to determine “the proper nationwide priorities and allocation of all ingredients necessary to manufacture infant formula, including controlling the distribution of such materials (including applicable services) in the civilian market.”
Biden separately also initiated what he called Operation Fly Formula. In a letter to the secretaries of Health and Defense, he said, “Your departments have worked closely with manufacturers to help them increase formula production and availability, which resulted in more formula produced in April than before the recall. By working with states and retailers to create flexibilities around the types of formula WIC recipients can purchase, we are helping all families access the formula they need.”
He asked them to “work expeditiously to identify any and all avenues to speed the importation of safe infant formula into the United States and onto store shelves. I further request that over the next week you work with the Department of Defense to utilize contracted aircraft to accelerate the arrival of infant formula into the United States that meets our Government’s health and safety standards.”
When asked for her thoughts on Operation Fly Formula, Capito said she wasn’t familiar with it and deferred comment until she could learn more.
Capito said she still would like to find out why the administration was slow in responding to the problem, which began when the nation’s largest formula maker, Abbott Nutrition, initiated a voluntary recall of several lines of powdered infant formula made at its Sturgis, Mich., plant following concerns about bacterial contamination.
She co-wrote a letter with Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kansas, asking the FDA about any of its “activities that may have contributed to the exacerbated infant formula shortages.” The letter poses 11 questions and calls for an answer by May 25. Twelve other GOP senators also signed on.
She noted that the federal government has not had, under any administration, backup plans for such a problem. State Medicaid programs buy a majority of certain types of formula for their WIC programs and have lacked the flexibility to turn to other types in case of a shortage. “This is a tough lesson to learn.”
Other points
Capito also praised the so-called pause of Biden’s Disinformation Governance Board, which she called the “Free Speech Interruption Board.” She said, “I’m glad to see that’s gone by the wayside.”
She and Sen. Joe Manchin jointly announced on Thursday that the state will receive $5 million from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act to outline the state’s plan to expand broadband with the estimated $600 million West Virginia will receive to provide broadband access to every unserved area in the state.
She praised that step forward.
Manchin said in their joint release, “Access to affordable, reliable broadband is vital to the success and growth of our communities across West Virginia and is crucial for attending telehealth appointments, supporting small businesses and staying in contact with family, friends and loved ones. … This is a great first step and I look forward to working directly with state officials to ensure everyone has broadband access in the Mountain State.”
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