House Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) introduced legislation on Tuesday to provide $28 million in emergency funding to the Food and Drug Administration in a move aimed at addressing the nation’s baby formula shortage.

The Infant Formula Supplemental Appropriations Act looks to prevent future shortages and includes language that aims to prevent “fraudulent products from entering the United States market.”

The legislation comes in the wake of one of the nation’s largest producers of infant formula, Abbott Nutrition, voluntarily recalling three types of its product following multiple babies contracting bacterial infections. The shortage has led to roughly 40% of supplies being out of stock by the end of April, and supply chain disruptions have exacerbated the crisis.

WHITE HOUSE HINTS AT BABY FORMULA IMPORT ANNOUNCEMENT

“The stories of mothers and fathers struggling to find formula and the images of empty store shelves are heartbreaking,” said DeLauro. “Parents and caretakers across the country cannot wait — they need our support now. This bill takes important steps to restore supply in a safe and secure manner. Additionally, with these funds, FDA will be able to help to prevent this issue from occurring again."

“While we know we have more work to do to get to the bottom of serious safety concerns at an Abbott facility and the FDA’s failure to address them with any sense of urgency, this bill is the first step to help restock shelves and end this shortage.”

Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) announced that the lower chamber would take action in an effort to mitigate the shortages in a “Dear Colleague” letter last week.

Republicans have been highly critical of the Biden administration’s response to the issue, arguing their efforts have fallen short to address the matter in a timely fashion.

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"Working families are already struggling to put food on the table due to the skyrocketing costs of everyday items, and now, they are facing a crisis that is threatening the very lives of their newborn children," Rep. Ann Wagner (R-MO) said at a press conference last week. "This baby formula shortage is hitting mothers all over the country, but especially in my home state of Missouri."