Hoyer Remarks at Press Conference on Legislation to Address Baby Formula Shortage
“I go to a grocery store called McKay’s in Charlotte Hall, Maryland, a little community in Southern Maryland, [in] St. Mary’s County and I am amazed at the bareness of the shelves. I don’t have any young children with which I live, but my granddaughter has not infant children – she’s two now, my youngest grandchild. But I think to myself, a young mom with infant children looking at their shelves and then having to go online and find some place where she can be confident that she has healthy food for her baby?
“That’s why the House is moving forward to craft legislation, led by Chairwoman DeLauro, Rep. Hayes, [Rep.] Bobby Scott, [Rep.] Frank Pallone will be doing that, he has a hearing next week when we have a committee week. Mothers across the country are looking to us for help, and we will not force them to face this crisis on their own. We’re on their side. We’ll see who’s on their side when we vote on this legislation.
“I hope my Republican colleagues will be filled with what Shakespeare called ‘the milk of human kindness’. Today he may say, ‘the milk of human health or the milk of human survival.’ So I hope my colleagues join with us to move swiftly in addressing this pressing challenge. Let’s get this done together and let’s get it done fast. So I want to thank all my colleagues and I want to thank Senator Stabenow, who is the chair of the Agriculture Committee in the United States Senate for the work she is doing. I know that she is going to be speaking herself but we’re glad that she’s here as a partner in making sure that moms will be able to feed their infants.”