WASHINGTON (KLFY) — Louisiana Rep. Clay Higgins was one of only nine “nay” votes on a bill amendment that would help address the current baby formula shortage that’s been causing a crisis in the U.S. for the last several weeks.
The U.S. House of Representatives voted to pass an amendment to the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 on Wednesday night. The amendment, H.R. 7791, called the “Access to Baby Formula Act of 2022” passed with 414 “yays” and nine “nays.”
The bill would allow low-income families to buy more formula through the Women, Infant, and Children (WIC) program, which currently limits the brands and amount of formula that WIC recipients can buy. The bill also would require that formula manufacturers have contingency plans for protecting against disruptions in supply in the event of a recall.
The nine who voted “nay” are the following: Paul Gosar (R-AZ), Andy Biggs (R-AZ), Lauren Boebert (R-CO), Matt Getz (R-FL), Marjorie Greene (R-GA), Thomas Massie (R-KY), Clay Higgins (R-LA), Louie Gohmert (R-TX), Chip Roy (R-TX).
Another bill, H.R.7790, called the Infant Formula Supplemental Appropriations Act, which would provide an extra $28 million to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to help address the formula crisis, also passed the House but with only 12 Republicans voting in favor, CBS reported.
The nation has been dealing with a formula shortage for several weeks in the wake of supply disruptions caused by COVID-19 and a large recall by Abbott Nutrition. CBS reported that the bills are the first Congress’ first legislative steps to finding a solution to the formula crisis.
