The House Oversight Committee on Thursday sent a letter dated Thursday to Murray S. Kessler, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Perrigo Company, demanding answers on the baby formula crisis.
“The Committee on Oversight and Reform seeks information regarding the steps your company is taking to respond to the shortage of infant formula in the United States,” the letter, signed by committee chairwoman Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) and subcommittee on economic and consumer policy chairman Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL), read.
The letter highlights the struggle families have had over the past several months in finding baby formula in the wake of national shortages, and consumers finding bare shelves and orders backed up months.
“Following a recall of one company’s powder infant formula products, the national out-of-stock rate has risen to 43%—a 10% increase from last month’s average. In five states, the out-of-stock-rate is greater than 50%,” they wrote, noting that parents are being forced to ration food and outsource, having friends or family members search in other areas of the country for formula to feed their infants.
“The national formula shortage poses a threat to the health and economic security of infants and families in communities throughout the country—particularly those with less income who have historically experienced health inequities, including food insecurity,” the lawmakers wrote, noting that four companies control nearly the entire market for formula manufacturing in the United States, including Perrigo Company.
“It is critical that your company take all possible steps to increase the supply of formula and prevent price gouging,” they continued, asking the company a series of questions, including what steps it is taking to help alleviate the crisis and what supply chain issues it is facing related to this pressing issue.
Mothers across the country have continued to voice their concerns over the crisis as they struggle:
“I have enough formula for two babies for 14 days,” Kayla Zurenko, a mom of four, told Fox News Digital, explaining that she has searched the tri-state area for formula for her babies. “Where am I going to find formula after that?”
This was not always an issue for Zurenko, as she breastfed her children up until January 2022, but stopped because she contracted the Chinese coronavirus, thrusting her among other parents who are facing similar panic over shortages of baby formula.
“I sent him [her husband] for a curbside order and the order got canceled,” Zurenko told Fox News Digital, explaining that they were eventually able to find some at Target. After that, she tried to breastfeed again, but she realized that her milk supply “just never came back to a sustainable level” after she contracted the virus.
Watch: Parents Panic as Biden Baby Formula Crisis Hits Shelves
White House economic adviser Brian Deese on Friday said the formula shortage will loom on, explaining that it “is not going to solve itself in a day or week.”
MARGARET BRENNAN: Do you think we’re headed towards recession?
LLOYD BLANKFEIN: We’re certainly heading — it’s a very, very high risk factor. There’s a path, a narrow path, but I think the Fed has very powerful tools. It’s hard to finely tune them and hard to see the effects of them quickly enough to alter it. But I think they are responding well. It’s definitely a risk. If I was running a big company I would be very prepared for it. If I was a consumer, I would prepared for it. But it’s not baked in the cake.
The White House claimed President Joe Biden’s administration made the baby formula shortage crisis a top priority as early as February, even though the president claimed ignorance of the problem on Thursday.
“This is something he is focusing on very acutely and again I said 24/7 we’ve been working on this since we have learned about this back in February,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said during the daily briefing about Biden, calling the issue “one of the presidents top priorities.”
Biden bristled when asked by reporters on Friday if he could have acted sooner to fix the crisis.
“If we had been better mind readers, I guess we could’ve, but we moved as the problem became apparent to us,” Biden said.
The president did not even personally mention the crisis until Friday, despite weeks of reports highlighting the problem.
“I’ll answer the baby formula question because, all of a sudden, it’s on the front page of every newspaper,” Biden grumbled on Friday.
He announced the launch of a new government website to help parents locate baby formula in stores, but it was beset by extremely long hold times and unhelpful information.
Jean-Pierre alluded to a comment from Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Bacerra claiming the Biden administration had been working on the issue since February and even as early as last year in 2021.
CNN: “You are satisfied with the government’s response throughout [the baby formula shortage]?”
HHS Sec. Xavier Becerra: “FDA has kept me apprised of this from LAST YEAR. We have been moving as quickly as we can” pic.twitter.com/5WRZa5chYg
“You’ve heard us talk about this, you’ve heard colleagues talking about what we have done since February,” Jean-Pierre said. “We’ve been working on this 24/7.”
Jean-Pierre refused to offer a timeline for when supplies of baby formula would return to normal.
“What I can say is there are a lot of dates floating around out there,” she said.
President Joe Biden struggled Monday with the correct pronunciation of the name of Aaron Salter Jr., a heroic ex-cop and security guard who died Saturday confronting the Buffalo mass shooting suspect.
“We pay tribute to all law enforcement officers and their families who understand what it takes, what’s at risk, to save and protect all of us,” Biden said. “That includes paying tribute to the Buffalo police officer Aaron Salder — Slater, excuse me — who gave his life trying to save others.”
Biden spoke about Salter during a Public Safety Officer Medals of Valor ceremony at the White House for law enforcement and public safety officials.
Salter was a Buffalo police officer for 30 years before retiring in 2022 and taking a security job at the Tops Friendly Market where the shooting took place.
Salter hit the alleged shooter with at least one round from his pistol, but it was blocked by the alleged shooter’s bulletproof armor. Salter was later shot and killed during the attack.
“You’re the heart and soul and very spine of this country and communities,” Biden continued, praising the public safety officials in the room.
During the ceremony, Biden also botched the name of Rep. Adriano Espaillat, a Democrat congressman from New York.
“Excuse me. You can call me ‘Bidden,’” Biden joked, mispronouncing his own name. “We’ve known each other so long and I still stumbled. I apologize.”