GOP blames formula shortage on the poor

U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) speak at a news conference on Republican lawmakers' response to the January 6th attack on the U.S. Capitol on January 06, 2022 in Washington, DC. During the news conference, Gaetz and Greene said that federal agents were allegedly present during the insurrection and the ones inciting the riot. Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

On Wednesday, nine House Republicans voted against a bill to help low-income families access baby food amid the nation's formula shortage, arguing that parents on federal food assistance benefits would be depriving middle-income families of the products they need as well. Now those same Republicans are defending their vote by pointing to America's most vulnerable families as the true cause of outrage. 

The bill, dubbed the "Access to Baby Formula Act" (HR 7791), would allow the U.S. government to waive a number of restrictions for families on Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), which helps low-income families access baby food. Roughly half of all formula products are purchased through the program.