May 15, 2024

Duckworth Meets with FTC Chair to Discuss Infant Formula Shortage, Additional Support for Working Families

 

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] – Today, U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) met with Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Chair Lina Khan to discuss the FTC’s wide-ranging report, originally requested by the Senator, on infant formula supply disruptions as well as how we can continue to better understand the business practices and market conditions that led to our nation’s infant formula crisis in 2022. Additionally, Duckworth and Chair Khan discussed how we can build on our progress to strengthen supply chains, provide additional support for working families and prevent these kinds of infant formula shortages from reoccurring. Photos of their meeting can be found on the Senator’s website.

“Our nation’s infant formula shortage in 2022 was alarming and deprived too many families of the food needed to feed their babies,” Duckworth said. “To help address this crisis, I’m grateful FTC Chair Lina Khan heeded my call and issued this wide-ranging, comprehensive report to help us better understand what went wrong and how we can prevent infant formula shortages from happening again. I look forward to continuing my work with FTC Chair Khan on this to ensure families don’t go without the food they need.”

Following the nationwide infant formula shortage in 2022, Duckworth worked hard to prevent it from happening again. In addition to calling on FTC Chair Lina Khan to launch a wide-ranging study of the infant formula industry, which resulted in this new report, Duckworth also helped introduce the Access to Baby Formula Act. This bipartisan, bicameral legislation was signed into law by President Biden to help address the infant formula shortage for families who rely on the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC). Senator Duckworth also joined her colleagues to help introduce the Protect Infants from Formula Shortages Act to safeguard the availability of these products by requiring manufacturers to notify the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of potential supply disruptions and give the FDA additional tools to proactively work with manufacturers to help prevent or mitigate potential shortages. And Duckworth joined her colleagues in urging the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to address extremely high levels of corporate concentration in the infant formula marketplace.

-30-