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McConnell: The FDA Already Has a $6 Billion Budget, Formula Shortage Isn't 'a Matter of Money'

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On Thursday’s broadcast of the Fox News Channel’s “Special Report,” Senate Minority Leader Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) argued that the FDA, which already has a $6 billion budget, didn’t fail to handle the formula shortage because they don’t have enough money, they failed due to “incompetence” within the bureaucracy.

McConnell stated [relevant remarks begin around 5:40] that the Biden administration’s response has been “Almost total incompetence. They misjudged this from the beginning. It’s not a matter of money. The FDA has a $6 billion budget. They could certainly take care of the so-called appropriation in the House that they just passed at 28 million. Bureaucratic incompetence, the administration was behind the curve. FDA needed to step up their game and hopefully, we’ll solve this problem very quickly.”

Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett

McCarthy: Biden 'Did Nothing' and Downplayed Using Defense Production Act on Formula Until People Complained

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On Thursday’s broadcast of the Fox News Channel’s “America’s Newsroom,” House Minority Leader Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) stated that the Biden administration failed to act on the national baby formula shortage and downplayed the impact that invoking the Defense Production Act would have on fixing the formula shortage until “people rose to the occasion” and started speaking out about the issue and that President Joe Biden consistently ignores big issues.

McCarthy said, “We’ve watched what they’re doing that they knew about a baby formula shortage, all the way to last year. But the FDA continued to hold it up. They did nothing until people rose to the occasion.”

After viewing a clip of then-White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki saying on Friday that “The production of baby formula is so specialized and so specific that you can’t just use the Defense Production Act to say to a company that produces something else, produce baby formula. It just doesn’t work that way.” McCarthy responded, “They say one thing. They do another. And it’s because [of] their lack of action. But what he has done every single time since he’s been president is ignore a big problem.”

Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett

Biden Nat’l Economic Council Head Deese Defends Waiting to Invoke DPA on Formula: Our Work Has Production 'Getting to 100%'

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On Thursday’s “PBS NewsHour,” White House National Economic Council Director Brian Deese responded to a question on why the Biden administration didn’t invoke the Defense Production Act to address the baby formula shortage earlier by stating that the administration has been working on the issue since February and “the reason why we are where we are today, where production is getting to 100%, is because of the work that’s been happening over the last several weeks.”

“NewsHour” Chief Washington Correspondent Geoff Bennett asked, “You have said that the administration was aware of this infant formula shortage back in February. So, why then did the government let it get to this point? Why not invoke the DPA much earlier to ease this supply situation?”

Deese responded, “The genesis of this challenge was that, in mid-February, on February 17, the FDA shut a facility, but — from Abbott manufacturing in Sturgis, Michigan. Because of a concern that the formula that was being produced was unsafe. That was a safety judgment that has to be made. And, of course, we’re dealing with infant formula, so we have to put safety at the front here. But, immediately after that happened, the administration began working with manufacturers and retailers to try to make sure that production was increasing. And, in fact, the reason why we are where we are today, where production is getting to 100%, is because of the work that’s been happening over the last several weeks.”

Deese continued, “The reason for the Defense Production Act now is we want to make sure that manufacturers can maintain and stay at that 100% capacity. We don’t want any manufacturer, now that they have ramped up, to be in a place where, for example, they can’t get the bottles that they need to fulfill an order or they can’t get an input that they need to fill an order. Having the flexibility of the Defense Production Act now in place will ensure that they can stay at this high rate of production going forward.”

Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett