Chris Deluzio: “I certainly thank the gentlewoman from Washington for her strong leadership and fight against these horrible mergers…”

“I certainly thank the gentlewoman from Washington for her strong leadership and fight against these horrible mergers that are anticompetitive that we are all paying for and for so much fight on behalf of working people across this country. We know that when corporations throw their weight around, all too often our constituents are hurt, small businesses are hurt, and workers are hurt. It is also dangerous at times. We know that when there are monopolies, our supply chains are weaker. There is more likely to be something that happens that might hurt us. I am reminded of the baby formula shortage we saw in this country in the early part of 2022. It was set off because Abbott Labs, a company that dominates that industry, had a recall of its formula due to dangerous bacteria outbreak in one factory. Multiple babies died. They had to shut down their factory in Michigan. It was a horrible situation. Shutting down just one factory, one, caused a nationwide shortage. In many places, store shelves were bare. Families were scrambling across the country, particularly families with babies that had special dietary needs. Delaware, Kansas, and Tennessee reported to be the hardest hit States. We felt it in places like Pennsylvania. My then-young son wasn't quite a year old. My own family worried about whether we could find formula and thank goodness we could.…”