Watch Video of Senator Rosen’s Remarks HERE
WASHINGTON, DC – During a hearing today of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, U.S. Senator Jacky Rosen (D-NV) questioned U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Robert Califf about how the Administration is ensuring areas in need, like Nevada, are receiving the infant formula the Administration is importing from abroad to address our domestic shortage. She also pressed Commissioner Califf about immediate information and resources for parents who can’t find needed formula.
Earlier this month, Senator Rosen sent a letter with Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV) urging the FDA to act quickly to address this shortage and pressing for information on how future shortages can be avoided. She also joined her colleagues in a letter to President Biden pressing him to take action to resolve this shortage as soon as possible.
BELOW IS AN EXCERPT OF THE EXCHANGE:
ROSEN: I want to follow up on… the distribution of formula coming in from military flights. How is it being decided beyond existing supply chain routes? Are the areas that are the hardest hit with the worst shortages like Las Vegas and other parts of Nevada, are they being prioritized?
CALIFF: Right now, the specialty formulas are the priority so they’re going to wherever babies are that need specialty formula, which could be anywhere…And I would expect that they are going to send the more general formula to the places with the greatest need at first, including – you know I think a special problem that’s been alluded to – if you’re in a rural area, you may be in a small place so you wouldn’t show up in a general measure and I know that’s going to be taken into account.
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