Since the Food and Drug Administration shut down one of America's largest baby formula plants in February, causing emergency shortages across the country and panic among parents, Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra has been missing in action.
Still blown away that Xavier Becerra, the head of HHS, hasn’t said a word about and seems to have zero engagement on the baby formula crisis.
— Matt Whitlock (@mattdizwhitlock) May 15, 2022
Very similar to his role in the global pandemic. https://t.co/YTaa1tAVtI
WOW - Becerra admits he has known about this growing crisis since LAST YEAR.
— Matt Whitlock (@mattdizwhitlock) May 16, 2022
Yesterday is the first time he’s mentioned it. Last week was (likely) the first time anyone told Biden about it.
This is egregious. https://t.co/nCCupKCZ8m
But while parents frantically drive from store-to-store in hopes of finding their brand of baby formula, yesterday Becerra revealed he's been focused on creating a new HHS environmental justice office.
"Today, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is establishing an Office of Environmental Justice (OEJ) to better protect the health of disadvantaged communities and vulnerable populations on the frontlines of pollution and other environmental health issues," HHS released in a statement Tuesday. "The new office will sit within the Office of Climate Change and Health Equity at HHS, which President Biden created as part of his Executive Order on Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad to ensure the Biden-Harris Administration strengthens and safeguards the health and well-being of the American people as it confronts climate change."
Phenomenal – Xavier Becerra has been so absent during the pandemic and the baby formula crisis (HHS crises) that Ron Klain almost sent out search and rescue to find him.
— Matt Whitlock (@mattdizwhitlock) May 31, 2022
Him coming out aggressively to engage on “environmental justice” from HHS is pretty hilarious. https://t.co/lygQsC4wnE
Meanwhile, stores continue to ration sales as baby formula supplies are still limited.