In the United States, Biden sets up an airlift to alleviate the shortage of infant milk
Empty shelves show a shortage of infant formula at a pharmacy, in San Antonio, Texas, U.S., May 10, 2022. © REUTERS - KAYLEE GREENLEE BEAL
Text by: RFI Follow
1 min
The baby milk shortage is becoming a political headache for the Biden administration just months before the midterm elections.
The crisis, which began with problems in the supply chains and a lack of manpower, worsened further with the closure of a large factory for health reasons.
The American president pulled out all the stops and announced on Wednesday the establishment of an airlift and the use of a law dating from the Cold War.
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To respond to
the shortage of baby milk
that is hitting the United States and forcing some parents to travel many kilometers to obtain it, Joe Biden first invoked the "
Defense Production Act
", a law dating from the Korean War.
Aircraft requisitioned
This time, it must be used to ensure the delivery of the ingredients necessary for the development of powdered milk to American manufacturers.
At the same time, the White House sets up an airlift.
Commercial planes of the Department of Defense are requisitioned to transport infant formula from abroad.
This shortage, which weighs on the Biden administration, affects above all modest households, where women are forced to return to work immediately after childbirth.
New funding
The House of Representatives overwhelmingly approved Wednesday, May 18, the expansion of access to powdered milk for these low-income Americans.
It also votes for new funding - $28 million - for the
Food and Drug Administration
, accused of not having taken the measure of the problem early enough.
This administration is notably responsible for inspections in factories, such as
that of the manufacturer Abbott
in Michigan, closed for health reasons and which should reopen within two weeks.
Abbott is one of four manufacturers that alone produce 90% of the milk powder in the United States.
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