Kildee Bill to Lower the Cost of Baby Formula Passes House

WASHINGTON—Congressman Dan Kildee, Chief Deputy Whip of the House Democratic Caucus, today applauded the passage of his legislation, supported by Democrats and Republicans, to lower the cost of infant formula.

America's supply of infant formula continues to be impacted by corporate consolidation, a major company product recall and pandemic-related supply chain issues. The federal government is taking unprecedented action to increase infant formula supplies, including importing more formula from trusted producers. However, depending on the country of origin, some formula may be subject to a 27% tariff. Congressman Kildee's bill, the Formula Act, would lower the cost of infant formula for working families by suspending U.S. tariffs on imported formula until the end of 2022.

"As a parent, I understand the anxiety of parents struggling to feed their newborns. No parent should struggle to provide the formula their baby needs to live. I worked with Republicans and Democrats to help address formula shortages and lower costs for families by suspending import taxes on formula for the rest of the year," said Congressman Kildee.

Congressman Kildee has been working to increase access to affordable infant formula. In May, Kildee helped pass, and the President signed into law, the Access to Baby Formula Act, which grants the U.S. Department of Agriculture the ability to waive certain requirements so families can continue to purchase infant formula. He also supports the Infant Formula Supplemental Appropriations Act to provide $28 million in emergency funding to address the urgent formula shortage and to help prevent it from ever happening again.

Congressman Kildee spoke on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives today in support of his legislation, the Formula Act. Video of Kildee's remarks is available here.