1 00:00:01,966 --> 00:00:04,233 And let's dive into some of the complexities of this shortage of baby formula, 2 00:00:06,233 --> 00:00:09,800 including what it will take to alleviate it more quickly and to fix bigger problems over time. 3 00:00:11,233 --> 00:00:14,933 Our Ali Rogin been reporting on this. And she joins me now. 4 00:00:14,933 --> 00:00:18,866 Ali, you have been looking at this for quite some time. And you're reminding us 5 00:00:18,866 --> 00:00:21,566 that there's a bigger context here. So remind us about the. 6 00:00:21,566 --> 00:00:23,566 ALI ROGIN: That's exactly right. 7 00:00:23,566 --> 00:00:26,533 Across the industry, people have been telling me today that the measures the White House 8 00:00:26,533 --> 00:00:30,000 introduced, they can't hurt, but they're not really things that are going to address 9 00:00:30,000 --> 00:00:35,000 the core issues here. A lot of these companies, they haven't had issues 10 00:00:37,466 --> 00:00:40,200 obtaining those raw materials that Brian Deese was talking about, materials and ingredients. 11 00:00:42,100 --> 00:00:44,700 And, as he said, it's a proactive measure. It's meant to ensure that companies 12 00:00:44,700 --> 00:00:48,733 that have ramped up production can sustain those levels of production without any interruption. 13 00:00:48,733 --> 00:00:52,300 The same can be said for these flights that the White House has introduced. 14 00:00:54,300 --> 00:00:58,100 Industry representatives say that this isn't a chief driver of the crisis. But, again, 15 00:01:00,566 --> 00:01:03,933 it can't hurt. For example, a spokesman for Abbott Labs today tells me that they have already had 16 00:01:05,933 --> 00:01:09,333 emergency airlifts of their product from an FDA-approved facility in Ireland. But they 17 00:01:09,333 --> 00:01:13,900 say that, of course, they welcome any measures that might be able to cut down on transfer time. 18 00:01:13,900 --> 00:01:18,533 JUDY WOODRUFF: Now, we know that this issue, Ali, has been getting a lot more attention from 19 00:01:18,533 --> 00:01:23,533 lawmakers. They have been pressuring the White House, urging the White House to do more. 20 00:01:25,433 --> 00:01:27,600 The FDA commissioner today testified on the Hill. Tell us about that. 21 00:01:27,600 --> 00:01:29,233 ALI ROGIN: Yes. 22 00:01:29,233 --> 00:01:32,866 What Brian Deese did not refer to, which is important to point out, 23 00:01:32,866 --> 00:01:37,866 is that the FDA is under a lot of scrutiny for its timeline, how quickly it acted. There was 24 00:01:39,900 --> 00:01:44,200 a whistle-blower report that came out in October of 2021. The FDA did not interview 25 00:01:46,566 --> 00:01:50,266 that whistle-blower until December, and then they did not do an inspection of that Sturgis, 26 00:01:50,266 --> 00:01:55,233 Michigan, facility, that was the nature of the whistle-blower complaint until January. 27 00:01:56,600 --> 00:01:58,433 So there are a lot of questions about that timeline. 28 00:01:58,433 --> 00:02:02,133 Commissioner Califf was before the House Appropriations Committee today. 29 00:02:02,133 --> 00:02:06,633 He demurred on a lot of those specifics, citing an ongoing investigation, but that 30 00:02:06,633 --> 00:02:11,333 didn't really satisfy a lot of lawmakers, including Appropriations Chairwoman Rosa DeLauro. 31 00:02:11,333 --> 00:02:16,133 REP. ROSA DELAURO (D-CT): You can't hide behind investigation. We need answers. We need them now. 32 00:02:16,133 --> 00:02:18,166 ROBERT CALIFF, Commissioner, Food and Drug Administration: I know we have an oversight 33 00:02:18,166 --> 00:02:22,800 hearing next week. And we will be prepared to go into much more detail at that point. 34 00:02:22,800 --> 00:02:26,400 As I have said, we could do better than we did. And... 35 00:02:26,400 --> 00:02:28,233 REP. ROSA DELAURO: You have an oversight committee 36 00:02:28,233 --> 00:02:31,333 next week. You're on before the committee that funds what you do. 37 00:02:31,333 --> 00:02:32,166 ROBERT CALIFF: Yes. 38 00:02:32,166 --> 00:02:34,000 REP. ROSA DELAURO: So, 39 00:02:34,000 --> 00:02:38,333 these -- this information is relevant to this Subcommittee of Appropriations. 40 00:02:40,333 --> 00:02:43,200 ROBERT CALIFF: Well, I appreciate what you're saying, but it's -- the investigation is not 41 00:02:43,200 --> 00:02:47,466 completed yet. And so I'm not in a position to answer specifics like that. 42 00:02:47,466 --> 00:02:51,866 JUDY WOODRUFF: So, Ali, what are seen to be then -- beyond what 43 00:02:51,866 --> 00:02:55,700 the administration is doing, what are seen to be the chief solutions here? 44 00:02:55,700 --> 00:02:58,200 ALI ROGIN: Yes. 45 00:02:58,200 --> 00:03:01,133 To the immediate crisis, it's all about getting formula back on the shelves. And the FDA announced 46 00:03:03,633 --> 00:03:06,333 earlier this week that it is working with Abbott Labs to reopen that closed facility in Sturgis, 47 00:03:08,266 --> 00:03:10,933 Michigan. The reopening process is going to take about two weeks, and then it might 48 00:03:10,933 --> 00:03:15,500 be an additional six to eight weeks before we see any of that product back on shelves. 49 00:03:15,500 --> 00:03:20,500 But all of this reveals a paradox, which is that the two entities most responsible 50 00:03:21,900 --> 00:03:24,233 for this crisis are also the ones with the most tools 51 00:03:24,233 --> 00:03:29,233 available to help get us out of it. The House earlier this week voted to approve an additional 52 00:03:31,166 --> 00:03:34,333 $28 million in emergency funding for the FDA to beef up their food safety program. 53 00:03:36,333 --> 00:03:40,833 And the FDA is also surging resources to Abbott to help it reopen this facility. 54 00:03:42,833 --> 00:03:46,333 As Brian Deese noted, Abbott and three other companies make up 90 percent of the 55 00:03:48,333 --> 00:03:50,800 American market share. And as this crisis has revealed, these companies are too big to fail. 56 00:03:50,800 --> 00:03:55,466 JUDY WOODRUFF: And you were telling us, Ali, there are also seem to be longer-term 57 00:03:55,466 --> 00:03:57,866 solutions that need to be addressed, that need to be looked at. 58 00:03:57,866 --> 00:04:01,200 ALI ROGIN: Yes, this is really forcing an industry-wide reckoning. 59 00:04:01,200 --> 00:04:06,200 Brian Deese talked about increasing competitions. And legislatures this week -- legislators also 60 00:04:08,600 --> 00:04:11,533 addressed a very important part of this, which is federal funding for low-income infant nutrition, 61 00:04:13,500 --> 00:04:17,866 which actually covers about 50 percent of all American infants. It's a program known as WIC. 62 00:04:19,666 --> 00:04:23,233 State WIC programs actually went really quickly in expanding access 63 00:04:24,700 --> 00:04:26,700 for WIC beneficiaries state by state. But that's because they 64 00:04:26,700 --> 00:04:31,700 had existing flexibilities because of the COVID-19 national health security crisis. 65 00:04:32,433 --> 00:04:34,366 JUDY WOODRUFF: Right. 66 00:04:34,366 --> 00:04:36,866 ALI ROGIN: And so lawmakers today, the Senate unanimously passed a bill 67 00:04:36,866 --> 00:04:40,866 to make those WIC flexibilities permanent. The House passed it 68 00:04:40,866 --> 00:04:44,533 earlier this week with nine no-votes. It now heads to the president's desk. 69 00:04:44,533 --> 00:04:49,533 Of course, the scrutiny of the FDA is also going to continue. Commissioner Califf, as well as 70 00:04:51,533 --> 00:04:54,233 executives from three of those four formula companies back on the Hill next week. Judy, 71 00:04:54,233 --> 00:04:58,533 they're going to be testifying before the House Energy and Commerce Committee next Wednesday. 72 00:04:58,533 --> 00:05:01,666 JUDY WOODRUFF: We're learning so much about this industry, which 73 00:05:01,666 --> 00:05:03,666 I think most of us knew very little about. 74 00:05:03,666 --> 00:05:05,100 ALI ROGIN: Absolutely. 75 00:05:05,100 --> 00:05:06,466 JUDY WOODRUFF: Ali Rogin, thank you very much. 76 00:05:06,466 --> 00:05:09,833 ALI ROGIN: Thank you.