Sheila Jackson Lee: “I thank the gentleman, Mr. Blumenauer, for his leadership and his cosponsor from Nebraska for his leadership. Ninety…”

“I thank the gentleman, Mr. Blumenauer, for his leadership and his cosponsor from Nebraska for his leadership. Ninety percent of the stores in Houston are without baby formula. Texas was one of the hardest hit States. One of the most potent, powerful, and sad days was when I was able to find baby formula from a disaster organization, and in my district, in those early days, had a baby formula giveaway. Volunteers were looking to make sure that we were not giving out expired-date formula. All I can say is the lines of cars and the women who stopped to get out of the car to simply hug us, the strollers that came up--baby formula is a lifeline. {time} 0930 Baby formula is a lifeline. This legislation breaks the crisis of the supply chain and provides a regulatory scheme that ensures we can have production. The disappointing aspect of all of this is the shutdown of the center point of manufacturing, if you will, and many were not notified. This legislation says that we are committed as Members of the United States Congress to modify safety requirements to the extent that no formula is jeopardized but that the lifeline for babies is our first priority. I am grateful for this legislation because the shelves in Houston, Texas, are gradually coming back. They are not there yet. Just a few weeks ago, we had one of the largest cargo planes land at Bush Intercontinental Airport. The gratification of families was unspeakable, could not be mentioned.…”