Biden invokes Defense Production Act to boost baby formula manufacturing to ease shortage – By Spencer Kimball (CNBC) / May 18, 2022
- President Joe Biden is requiring suppliers to direct ingredients used in baby formula to key manufacturers to help boost domestic production.
- Biden has also ordered the federal health and agriculture departments to use Defense Department aircraft to pick up infant formula from overseas.
- Parents have been struggling to buy formula for their infants since the closure of a key manufacturing facility in Michigan due to bacterial contamination.
President Joe Biden on Wednesday invoked the Defense Production Act to increase baby formula manufacturing to ease a nationwide shortage caused by the closure of a key plant in Michigan.
Biden is requiring suppliers to direct ingredients used in baby formula to key manufacturers before any other customers who may have placed orders for those same goods. It wasn’t immediately clear which major suppliers are subject to the order.
The Defense Production Act gives the president broad authority to require companies to prioritize the production and allocation of goods in response to a crisis. The law was passed in 1950 during the Korean War.
Biden has also directed the Health and Human Services Department and Department of Agriculture to use aircraft from the Defense Department to pick up infant formula from overseas that meets U.S. health and safety standards.
