On May 18, the U.S. House of Representatives passed several bills issuing funding to address the current nationwide baby formula shortage.

Introduced by the Democrats, the House voted 414-9 in favor of bill HR 7791 – the Access to Baby Formula Act – which calls for allowing more formula to be purchased with money from a federal government program that provides financial aid to low-income women and children.

The federal program in question is known as the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children and aims to ensure that mothers and families can buy formula in times of public health emergencies or supply chain issues. 

Additionally, the House also voted 231-192 in favor of bill HR 7790, which would issue $28 million in funding to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to help alleviate the current emergency shortage. 

The action comes shortly after President Joseph Biden’s announcement that he would invoke the Defense Production Act, which prioritizes the ingredients needed for producing formula, as well as improvements to transportation methods in order to import formula from different countries.

Currently, planes with more than 75,000 pounds of formula are landing in the U.S. under the name of “Operation Fly Formula” in hopes of further alleviating the current emergency shortage.