Sen. Casey introduces bill to protect families from baby formula shortages
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- Sen. Bob Casey along with other lawmakers have introduced a bill aimed at avoiding future baby formula shortages.
The senator made a trip to Pittsburgh today to address the current shortage with local health experts and families.
The Protect Infants from Formula Shortages Act would help families who rely on infant formula and other essential sources of nutrition for their children from future shortages.
Sen. Casey held a roundtable discussion Friday with UPMC Children Hospital's leaders and local parents to discuss what else needs to be done to help with the crisis.
One mother says her son is on a special formula due to an allergy. The WIC program was not able to send her formula when she was running low because of the shortage.
About 158,000 families in the state depend on the WIC program. Sen. Casey says those families need more options when this happens.
"When you have the shutdown of a facility and that company is controlling or providing almost half of the supply, you're going to have a problem," Sen. Casey said. "So, we've got to have more diversification in terms of manufacturers."
Sen. Casey's bill would also give the FDA additional tools to work with manufacturers to help prevent or lessen any potential shortages like this one.