Source: United States Senator for Illinois Tammy Duckworth
This action comes on the heels of Duckworth’s request for a wide-ranging study of the infant formula industry
[WASHINGTON, D.C.] — U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) issued the following statement after Lina Khan, Chair of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), announced the start of an inquiry into the infant formula shortage. This announcement comes shortly after Duckworth sent the FTC a letter requesting the FTC conduct a Section 6(b) wide-ranging study of the infant formula industry. Specifically, Duckworth is asking the inquiry examines how that market’s composition, along with the behavior and business practices of market participants, affect competition, consumer prices, consumer choice, product safety, product quality, product transparency, supply chain efficiency, supply chain resilience and public health.
“As the nationwide infant formula shortage continues, there are more and more questions about how we got here and what must be done to prevent similar crises in the future. I’m pleased that FTC Chair Khan is swiftly taking action after I called for a wide-ranging inquiry into the infant formula industry and I look forward to examining its findings so that we may develop effective legislative fixes that strengthen the resiliency of the infant formula supply chain, protect families from outrageous prices and expand consumer choice.”
Since the nationwide infant formula shortage began, Duckworth has been working to address this issue and prevent it from happening again. Last week, she helped introduce the Access to Baby Formula Act, bipartisan, bicameral legislation to address the infant formula shortage for families who rely on the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC), which President Biden signed it into law. She 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. Additionally, 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-