Formula Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. SMITH of Nebraska. Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 8351, the Formula Act.

I appreciate Mr. Blumenauer and his willingness to work with me on this bipartisan effort to address our Nation's infant formula shortage.

The Formula Act makes infant formula more accessible and affordable by allowing it to be imported duty-free through the end of the year.

Make no mistake: Mothers and families should never have to experience the extreme despair of worrying whether shelves will be stocked with the formula they need for their infants.

As a father of two, including a 1-year-old, I think I can speak for many others across America that nothing is more important than the health and well-being of our children.

The Biden administration knew of the looming infant formula shortage for months and yet failed to develop a strategy or adequately respond. While we wait for domestic production to fully resume, families should not have to pay additional taxes on imported formula to feed their little ones.

I will continue to work with my colleagues on the Ways and Means Committee, as well as the full House, to use trade tools to strengthen critical supply chains like infant formula.

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Mr. SMITH of Nebraska. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Murphy), a member of the Ways and Means Committee.

Mr. MURPHY of North Carolina. Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 8351, the Formula Act.

I thank my friend from Nebraska, Mr. Adrian Smith, and Mr. Blumenauer for their leadership on this bill.

With families facing record-high inflation, with record-high food and gas prices, the last thing that parents need to worry about is being able to find formula, much less being able then to afford it.

H.R. 8351 ensures that families are not covering the cost of additional taxes on formula imported into the United States, and I am pleased with the relief that this bill will provide.

But, unfortunately, as has been the mantra of this administration, this crisis exemplifies just another self-inflicted wound that has been the point of the Biden administration. The administration knew about the impending shortage and failed to act to avert the crisis.

The incompetence of this administration has real world effects. We are talking about something that is basic sustenance for infants in this country. They need this, and this bill will help bring affordability to parents for their children.

Madam Speaker, I thank, again, my colleagues and encourage their support of this legislation.

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Mr. SMITH of Nebraska. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

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Mr. SMITH of Nebraska. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

I appreciate the dialogue that we have been having here today. I think it is important, as my colleague just mentioned, that we work together to make sure this doesn't happen again.

I think we need to look across the Federal agencies to make sure that these very powerful agencies that have the power to shut down an industry, perhaps, that they have to plan ahead for what happens if that occurs so that people don't suffer as a result.

When we hear the statistics that 90 percent of stores didn't have something, that means they had none, not just more expensive product that we see across the economy. It is hard to believe that the inflation rate is announced at 9.1 percent when it sure seems like things are a lot more expensive than just 9.1 percent more than last year.

The fact of the matter is, let's work together to prevent this formula situation from ever happening again.

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Mr. SMITH of Nebraska. Madam Speaker, I am finished, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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Mr. SMITH of Nebraska. Madam Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

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