Utah lawmakers react to passage of baby formula bill

WASHINGTON, D.C. —  The Infant Formula Supplemental Appropriations Act passed on Wednesday and is headed to President Joe Biden for approval. The bill passed with a 231 to 192 vote, but got resistance from all four of Utah’s representatives. 

The bill is focused on getting formula stocked on shelves and in American homes. 

According to the Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives, Utah Reps. John Curtis, Blake Moore, Burgess Owens and Chris Stewart voted against the measure. 

Infant Formula Supplemental Appropriations Act specifics

Also known as bill H.R. 7790, the Infant Formula Supplemental Appropriations Act provides $28 million in emergency funds to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration  to

• address the current shortage of FDA-regulated infant formula and certain medical foods in the U.S., and
• prevent future shortages by taking the steps that are necessary to prevent fraudulent products from entering the U.S. market.

Utah lawmakers’ opposition

Utah representatives expressed disapproval of using federal funds to combat the problem. Rep. Curtis took to Twitter to explain his position.

THREAD: This week, the House passed a bill that would give the FDA $28 million extra in funding to address the formula shortage. I opposed this bill because not only is funding not an issue for them, but it also distracts us from working on real solutions. #utpol

— Rep. John Curtis (@RepJohnCurtis) May 20, 2022

“FDA is sitting on a surplus of funds, and throwing money at a federal agency won’t fix a supply chain problem in large part created by the FDA itself,” said Curtis. “We now know the FDA was aware of this issue when it began but did not take the steps to prevent the shortage. Instead, we need to work in a bipartisan fashion to find solutions that gets more formula on the shelves and prevent a situation like this from happening again.” 

Stewart directly addressed a tweet to the U.S. House Speaker, Nancy Pelosi saying American parents need relief.

Nearly half of America’s baby formula is out of stock. So what did Speaker Pelosi do this week?

She gave everyone in Congress a Peloton membership that could cost taxpayers an extra $100K per month.

America’s parents need relief, @SpeakerPelosi. Bring my FORMULA Act to a vote.

— Rep. Chris Stewart (@RepChrisStewart) May 19, 2022

The FORMULA  Act was introduced earlier this month by Stewart and Sen. Mike Lee

In an interview with the Deseret News, Moore noted that he and his wife were “in the thick of the shortage,” and said he’s doing all he can to find real solutions and accountability.

“More bureaucracy is not the solution,” Moore also said.

Utah Rep. Burgess Owens also voted nay on the Infant Formula Supplemental Appropriations Act. However, he co-sponsored the Access to Baby Formula Act which aims to address supply chain disruptions. That bill passed on Thursday.