Turner proposes bill to change infant formula competitive bidding process

To help alleviate future baby formula shortages, legislation proposed by U.S. Rep. Mike Turner (R-OH) would change the competitive bidding process for infant formula manufacturers under the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children, also known as WIC.

“Families should never be placed in a situation where they struggle to adequately feed their infant children, but that has been the harsh reality for countless families in Ohio and across the country for more than a year,” Rep. Turner said. 

The congressman on May 18 cosponsored the Improving Newborn Formula Access for a Nutritious Tomorrow (INFANT) Act, H.R. 3540, with bill sponsor U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) to expand baby formula contracting for states from one to two suppliers in the WIC program, according to a bill summary provided by the lawmakers.

“I am proud to partner with my friend and colleague, Congresswoman Stefanik, to expand WIC’s existing contracting requirements and foster competitiveness in the baby formula market,” said Rep. Turner. “By making our supply chain more resilient, we can protect families from baby formula shortages in the future.”

WIC is a federal assistance program of the Food and Nutrition Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture for the healthcare and nutrition of low-income pregnant women, breastfeeding women, and children under the age of five.

Under current law, states are required to contract with only one baby formula manufacturer for the WIC program. As a result, three companies — Abbott, Reckitt, and Gerber — provide 95 percent of the total baby formula supply in the United States, according to the summary. 

If enacted, H.R. 3540 would change the competitive bidding process to open up the market to more manufacturers, and is aimed at solving the baby formula crisis by establishing WIC contracting requirements that will prevent another shortage, the summary says.

“This critical, family-oriented legislation comes in the wake of the ongoing nationwide baby formula shortage crisis that is still heavily impacting mothers who rely on WIC to feed their babies,” said Rep. Stefanik. “It’s time to pass this legislation to ensure that we put ourselves in a position where a baby formula shortage crisis never happens again.”