The House will vote on two bills Wednesday night to address the ongoing shortage of baby formula across the country.
A $28 million supplemental bill introduced by Deputy Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) would greenlight emergency funding to help the Food and Drug Administration address shortages, including increasing staff for inspections.
And another bill presented by Representative Jahana Hayes (D-Conn.) would ensure that families could buy formula with the benefits of WIC, a supplemental program for women, infants and young children, during emergencies or supply chain disruptions.
President Biden invoked the Defense Production Act (DFA) Wednesday night, requiring suppliers to “direct necessary resources to manufacturers of infant formula before any other customer who has ordered that good.” ”.
“That was the first route I wanted to take,” DeLauro told NotedDC of invoking the Defense Production Act, saying Wednesday that he was working with the Biden administration to employ it.
DeLauro says he also plans to introduce a bill that goes beyond the current shortage, giving the FDA “authority to strengthen the process” of inspecting facilities.
The issue will be front and center on Thursday when the House Appropriations Committeechaired by DeLauro, is holding the first of two hearings examining formula shortages and discussing possible changes.
The crisis began with supply chain problems and came to a head when Abbott Laboratories, one of the largest providers of formula, recalled its products and closed its formula plant in Michigan following reports of sick babies.
welcome to AnnotatedDC: Your Guide to Politics, Politics, and Important People in DC Got news, juicy gossip, insights, or other insider information? Send us tips: Elizabeth Crisp and Kelsey Carolan.
📨 Encourage your friends to sign up here: thehill.com/noted.
Alcohol delivery arrives at the house
House members and staff now have access to an exclusive benefit that their Senate colleagues cannot take advantage of: a la carte drinks.
According to information recently released to the House, members and staff can receive alcohol anywhere their offices are located throughout the Capitol Complex.
But pricing can be sticky for some. Here’s a sample from supplier Sodexo’s House catering site for same-day delivery:
- Wine (varies by type): $10-28
- Case of beer (varies by type): $35-42
- Tito’s Vodka (750ml): $26
- Crown Royal Whisky: $35
- 1800 Tequila: $30
- And for those who are feeling extra fancy… Veuve Clicquot: $75
The Senate notably, it has a separate vendor for its foodservice operation on its side of the Capitol and Senate office buildings.
A spokesman for restaurant associates The hospitality group tells NotedDC that they have not been asked by Senate leaders to consider offering alcohol services.
And while House members can’t use official funds to pay for alcohol, Republicans have criticized Democratic leaders for handing out alcohol and other perks to their offices.
“Millions of Americans are experiencing increased financial burden due to inflation, and Pelosi is wasting tax money providing House staff with Peloton memberships and a liquor store,” said Rep. Austin Scott (R-Ga.) to The Hill.
Cawthorn’s tenure at Capitol limited
Representative Madison CawthornPolitical controversies and scandals apparently caught up with him Tuesday night, when the House Republican lost a heated primary battle.
Republican voters in North Carolina’s 11th district chose state Sen. Chuck Edwards over Cawthorn, who at 26 was one of the youngest people to serve in Congress.
While it was Cawthorn’s first re-election bid, he faced an uphill battle after he said on a podcast that he had been invited to an orgy in DC and had seen his colleagues use cocaine.
And a few weeks ago, leaked photos showing Cawthorn wearing women’s lingerie put another nail in the coffin for his campaign.
A great takeaway: Tal Axelrod and Max Greenwood of The Hill noted that “the loss of Cawthorn showed that there are limits to what voters will tolerate.”
QUOTABLE
“Well, it’s good. I mean it’s good for the country, it’s good for the party.”
– Representative Adam Kinzinger (Illinois), who is retiring, on CNN talking about
Republican Rep. Madison Cawthorn loses her main battle this week
Murkowski receives support from his Republican colleagues
Senator Lisa Murkowskia moderate Republican from Alaska facing a The Trump-backed challenger in his re-election bid this year appears to be getting an extra boost from her fellow Republicans.
The three-term senator was front and center at a Wednesday news conference that included a deep list of GOP heavyweights who attacked the White House over high gas prices.
“All it takes is [for] President Biden stand up in front of a microphone and say, given what’s going on in this country, the unprecedented place we find ourselves in today, [and] the impact on ordinary Americans, I have an obligation to say that Americans will come first and American energy production will come first,” Murkowski said at the event, which was also attended by Republican senators. ted cross (Texas), John Kennedy (The.), Cindy Hyde-Smith (Miss.), James Landford (Okay.), Shelley Moore Captain (W. Virginia) and Juan Barraso (Wy.), among others.
Murkowski is trying to defend himself against an opponent who has received Trump’s blessing, Kelly Tshibakabefore the primaries on August 16.
Recent polls have suggested that Murkowski remains the favorite for re-election, but due to changes in Alaska’s primary election laws, she may have a narrower path to victory.
Murkowski was a rare Republican vote to convict then-President Trump on his impeachment charge following the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on Capitol Hill.
Still, the Republican leader of the Senate Mitch McConnell (Ky.) has backed Murkowski as the party seeks to regain control of the upper house this year.
“We will do everything we can to make sure it is successful,” McConnell told Axios in an interview last month.
Of note: Murkowski has served in the US Senate representing Alaska for more than four decades: Her father, Frank, served in the chamber since 1981 and named her to succeed him when he resigned to become governor in 2002.
HERE WE GO AGAIN
Previous president trump is urging the famous doctor Mehmed Oz to take a page out of their 2020 playbook and declare a premature victory in the Pennsylvania GOP Senate primary.
“Dr. Oz should declare victory. They find it much harder to cheat on ballots they just ‘happened to,'” Trump posted Wednesday on Truth Social, his social media platform, drawing parallels to his false claim of fraud. widespread election in 2020.
Only a few thousand votes separate Oz from former hedge fund CEO David McCormick, putting them in potential recount territory, writes Max Greenwood of The Hill.
Across the hall: Niall Stanage of The Hill wrote that Pennsylvania’s lieutenant governor. John Fetterman was the clearest winner on Tuesday night after beating Representative Conor Cordero (D-Pa.) in the Democratic primary.
Read more about the winners and losers of Tuesday’s primaries.
Lawmakers call for more education on opioid crisis
Representative Madeleine Dean (D-Pa.) offered a stark comparison of the number of people who have died from an overdose in the last year, about 110,000, saying it is equivalent to one “airliner per day.”
The challenge for lawmakers, according to Dean: “How do we land this plane.”
Speaking at The Hill’s The Opioid and the Criminal Justice System event on Wednesday, Dean told editor-in-chief Bob Cusack that “we’ve managed to talk more about it.
“But I think we have a long way to go when I think about how we educate young people,” he said.
On the subject of criminal justice and opioid abuse, Representative Dave Joyce (R-Ohio) said community-based education services are critical for people coming out of jail so they “don’t go back to the situation that led to their addiction.”
He added that the government should give more resources to those incarcerated since the goal is to “reintroduce them to society.”
“We abandoned mental health treatment programs and made the prison system a home for people with mental health problems,” Joyce said.
Watch the full interview and the event here.
‘Hurricanes are coming’
As if there haven’t been enough disasters lately…here’s your reminder that Hurricane season is soon upon us.
President Biden on Wednesday he met with leaders to discuss equitable emergency preparedness for this season’s hurricanes.
“We know hurricanes are coming,” he told reporters before the talk. “They get more extreme every season.”
He also begged people to heed hurricane warnings and follow the instructions of local authorities.
- The Hurricane season in the Atlantic It “officially” starts June 1 and lasts until November 30, but recent weather patterns have seen storms not only grow in intensity but also fall off predicted rails.
- Weather experts have also noted that the water in the Gulf of Mexico is already warmer than average, which could make storms coming across the Gulf Coast even more powerful.
Watch Biden’s full briefing here.
Stay on TheHill.com for the latest and recommend NotedDC to others: thehill.com/noted. See you tomorrow.
SEE THE COMPLETE EDITION HERE
Reference-thehill.com