Katie Porter partners with GOP rep to introduce bill to prevent infant formula crisis

(KRON) — Rep. Katie Porter (D-Irvine), the top Democrat on the Oversight Subcommittee on Health Care and Financial Services, has teamed up Chairwoman Lisa McClain (R-MI) to introduce a bipartisan bill aimed at preventing another infant formula shortage. The bill is known as the Safeguarding Kids and Families from Critical Food Shortages Act, according to a press release on Porter’s website.

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“Both a major formula manufacturer and the responsible government watchdog let parents down last year by failing to catch bacterial contamination until it was too late,” said Porter, one of three leading Democrats running to fill Dianne Feinstein’s Senate seat. “To give parents peace of mind and to prevent another bacterial outbreak from devolving into a disaster, my Safeguarding Kids and Families from Critical Food Disruptions Act empowers the FDA and holds the agency accountable for getting answers from manufacturers. I’m grateful to Subcommittee Chair Lisa McClain for co-leading this bill with me, and I’m hopeful that the extremely bipartisan nature of our efforts will get this legislation over the finish line.”

The bill would require formula manufacturers to report to the Food and Drug Administration within 24 hours any time their infant formula was contaminated by a pathogen. At a March oversight committee hearing, Porter’s questioning revealed that current law only requires manufacturers to report contaminations to the FDA if they ship out a contaminated product, not if the formula is still in the factory.

Porter, who was in Santa Cruz last week on a campaign stop, has championed efforts to prevent another infant formula shortage, according to her website.

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