(Molly Bruns, Headline USA) The House Oversight and Accountability Committee, headed by Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., is launching an investigation into the baby formula shortage that took place at the beginning of 2022.
Comer, along with Subcommittee on Health Care and Financial Services Chairwoman Rep. Lisa McClain, R-Mich., sent a letter to FDA Commissioner Dr. Robert Califf announcing the investigation and requesting documentation on the Biden administration’s actions in the wake of the discovery.
The committee laid into the FDA and the Biden administration for not doing anything about the crisis, according to the Daily Wire.
“The Reagan-Udall Foundation’s report titled ‘Operational Evaluation of the FDA Human Foods Program,’ found that there was ‘little motivation, and no requirement,’ to ‘facilitate critical thinking and proactive decision-making’ during the infant formula shortage,” the legislators wrote. “Despite this report, and the acknowledged need for a major overhaul, you stated that there would be no reassignments nor firings over the administration’s response to the infant formula shortage.”
Comer also pointed out that instead of holding the responsible parties accountable, they simply shuffled their staff members from the food and nutrition division to similar jobs with different titles.
“The Committee is concerned that the FDA’s restructuring is a superficial attempt—rather than a real effort—to bring accountability and make meaningful changes,” the letter added.
The documents requested include communications between the White House, the FDA and the Department of Health and Human Services; information about the FDA’s reorganization plan within the nutrition division; the hiring, reassignment and firing deliberations for individuals involved in the crisis; and more.
The deadline for sending the documents is April 4.
The Biden administration worked through a series of underhanded deals throughout the formula shortage in early 2022, expanding the power of the FDA, staging photo ops and even sending formula to the southern border.
Families are reportedly still suffering from the effects of the scarcity, with many stores across the nation still reporting low or no stock of many formula brands. Several factories that produced formula are under government investigation with no sign of change.
