Biden’s administration is reportedly working on a plan to deal with the baby formula scarcity in the United States. In fact, they just imported some baby formula from overseas.
We’re in this dilemma because of the actions of the FDA under the Biden administration. Reopening of the facility was approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) earlier this week after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said the illnesses that babies were experiencing had nothing to do with their consumption of formula.
But that leaves the company with a lot of catch-up to do. Believe me, I’ve been there myself in a similar industry. I’ve worked at a company which was regulated by the FDA and there were occasions in which there would be a suspicion as to whether or not something foreign got into the product that was being manufactured. In times like that, the entire operation would shut down until the problem was resolved and then once it was, there would be a lot of make up work to do which would involve working a lot of overtime to try and catch up.
That is what I suspect will happen with this as well, but what Pete Buttigieg, Biden’s Secretary of Transportation just suggested is not a good idea to help remedy the problem of supply.
According to Newsmax,
U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said on Monday that his department can waive hours of service rules for truck drivers to deliver infant formula if needed.
“This is principally an issue of production — more than goods movement. But anytime we see an indication that goods movement is becoming a limiting factor, we’ll do anything we can to tear down obstacles,” Buttigieg told reporters.
If you’ve ever been a truck driver or know a truck driver, then you may understand why this isn’t a good idea. Truck drivers are only allowed to drive a certain number of hours at a time in order to ensure that they are getting enough rest and not falling asleep at the wheel. What it sounds like Buttigieg is suggesting is to say, “Screw those rules. Keep driving.”
I’m sure there are some drivers who might like the opportunity to earn some extra money, but what is going to be the cost? because I know some companies are going to push those truck drivers to drive more than they should.