Salazar Co-Leads Legislation to Address Infant Formula Crisis by Expanding Access to Donor Milk

Press Release

Recently, Congresswoman María Elvira Salazar (R-FL), alongside Congresswomen Chrissy Houlahan (D-PA) and Stephanie Bice (R-OK) introduced the bipartisan Access to Donor Milk Act (ADMA), an effort to expand and promote access to donor breast milk which is a healthy and safe alternative to infant formula or breast milk directly from the baby's mother when supply is short.

"Feeding and nourishing our infants should be as easy as possible whether parents use breast milk, formula, or donor milk," said Rep. Salazar. "As a mother of two beautiful daughters, I am proud to co-lead legislation that will, especially in times of crisis, help suppliers meet demand for safe and healthy donor milk."

"Today, we took an important step forward for families by introducing a comprehensive bill to improve access to donor breast milk -- a safe and vital lifeline for many medically vulnerable infants across this country," said Rep. Houlahan. "We are building a broad coalition of support in the House and Senate, and I will keep working to deliver results for those in need. Especially in the wake of the infant formula crisis, we must be using all of the tools at our disposal to help children and families."

"Fortunately, in the Fifth Congressional District, we have the Oklahoma Mothers' Milk Bank which provides safe pasteurized milk for families," said Rep. Bice. "For a variety of reasons, not all mothers can breastfeed, which has critical health benefits for young children. This bipartisan legislation will promote healthy families and help mitigate the impacts of any future infant formula shortages."

This bipartisan legislation was endorsed by 17 organizations including 1,000 Days, an Initiative of FHI Solutions; African American Breastfeeding Network; American Academy of Family Physicians; Association of Maternal & Child Health Programs; Human Milk Banking Association of North America; Institute for the Advancement of Breastfeeding & Lactation Education; March of Dimes; Medela LLC; MomsRising; National Partnership for Women & Families; National WIC Association; National Women's Health Network; NEC Society; Reaching Our Sisters Everywhere; US Breastfeeding Committee; United States Lactation Consultant Association; and ZERO TO THREE.

Background:

In February, a Food and Drug Administration recall of Abbott infant formula, combined with preexisting supply chain disruptions, market concentration, and import restrictions on the product, led to a severe nationwide shortage of infant formula in the United States that many regions of the country are still recovering from according to local news reports.

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