Biden invokes Defense Production Act to address national shortage of baby formula

NBC News ^ | May 19th. 2022 | By Kristen Welker and Zoë Richards

[Mariner]

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden on Wednesday invoked the Defense Production Act in a major step to boost the supply of baby formula.

The announcement means the federal government will prioritize key ingredients for formula production and compel suppliers to provide the needed resources to formula manufacturers ahead of other customers ordering those goods.

In addition to invoking the 1950 law, which allows the government to direct manufacturing production for national defense, Biden also launched a program that will use U.S. military aircraft to import formula from abroad.

“Today, I’m invoking what they call the Defense Production Act to ensure that manufacturers have the necessary ingredients to make safe, healthy infant formula here at home,” Biden said in a video from the White House.

[Bratch]

Biden Administration Invoke Defense Production Act, HHS Will Now Control Means of Production for Baby Formula and Ensure Distribution Equity

May 18, 2022 | sundance | 275 Comments

Do you know what it’s technically called when “government takes control of the means of production?” 

Yeah, that.

This afternoon Joe Biden invoked the Defense Production Act (DPA) giving Health and Human Services (HHS) the legal authority to control the supplies needed for the creation of baby formula (how it is made), and the authority to determine distribution equity (who gets it).  

Emphasis mine:

White House [DPA Sec. 2] – “[T]he authority of the President conferred by section 101 of the Act to require performance of contracts or orders … is delegated to the Secretary of Health and Human Services with respect to all health resources, including the ingredients necessary to manufacture infant formula.”

“(b)  The Secretary of Health and Human Services may use the authority under section 101 of the Act to determine, in consultation with the Secretary of Agriculture and the heads of other executive departments and agencies as appropriate, the proper nationwide priorities and allocation of all ingredients necessary to manufacture infant formula, including controlling the distribution of such materials (including applicable services) in the civilian market, for responding to the shortage of infant formula within the United States.” (read more)

HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra, an über-leftist who ironically self-describes as an abortion absolutist, is now in charge of infant formula manufacture and distribution. You do not need to be a conspiracy theorist to predict which “at risk” group will get priority distribution of limited resources.

[one guy in new jersey]

Out the window go concerns about contaminated, not “first rate” product.

That was what Brandon initially claimed was the reason a quick recovery of baby formula inventory/production would not be in the offing.

[Bernard]

“If you put the federal government in charge of the Sahara Desert,” the economist Milton Friedman once quipped, “in five years there’d be a shortage of sand.”

And with baby formula, Joe is already facing a shortage. How bad can he make it?

[Freedom of Speech Wins]

Will the military check Pelosi’s freezer?

[Gene Eric]

Comcast gushing over this faux heroism. Rats created the shortage.

[dartuser]

Will the Dem Congress conduct price gouging hearings for the manufacturers? They always have hearings for a problem that they created.

[Adder]

Yeah they are,,,cry babies.

[castlebrew]

“Biden also launched a program that will use U.S. military aircraft to import formula from abroad.”

WE used to fly stuff OUT to other countries that were in a jam. What a friggin’ disgrace!

[Little Ray]

That stinks.
I guess the Feds have to get their cut before they let it through.

[Krosan]

I think protectionism is a two-edged sword. A lot of people (from both parties) like it and believe it will bring only their desired positive results, but what history has shown us is that it never works as intended and brings misery 95% of the time.

[Little Ray]

I like protectionism.
We didn’t protect the integrated circuit (”chip”) industry and now all the manufacturing is overseas. We can’t get enough for our industries.
But there is no denying there can be unintended consequences.

[Krosan]

All the high-end fabrication plants are in the US.

98 plants in this list - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_semiconductor_fabrication_plants

The low-end ones that we’re having a problem with now are in other countries.