WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Representative Zach Nunn (IA-03) today introduced bipartisan legislation to prevent another infant formula shortage. The Investing in New Families and Newborns Through (INFANT) Tax Credit Act, which is co-led by U.S. Representative Chrissy Houlahan (PA-06), will diversify the formula supply chain by supporting small-sized manufacturers based in the United States.

“Just two years ago, millions of parents were scrambling to feed their babies – some even traveling miles or paying out-of-this-world prices just to get the formula their child needed,” said Rep. Nunn. “We may be past that crisis now, but we should work to stop this from ever happening again. By supporting small-sized American manufacturers, we can prevent another shortage and keep children fed and happy.”

In May 2022, the infant formula shortage hit critical levels as nationwide out-of-stock rates reached 70% with just two brands accounting for 60% of the shortfall. This shortage was the result of not only the pandemic but also a February 2022 recall from a facility estimated to produce 43% of the total consumption of formula in the U.S. The shutdown immediately skyrocketed out-of-stock levels of infant formula to 25%, up from 11% in December 2021, and continued to increase into the summer.

“It wasn’t long ago that the infant formula crisis had parents across America worried about meeting their babies’ nutritional needs,” said Rep. Houlahan. “While that immediate concern has abated, we must address weaknesses in our supply chain to ensure we never find ourselves with empty shelves of infant formula again. One way we do that is by supporting small, domestic infant formula manufacturers. Creating tax credits for these manufacturers would promote competition, sustain production growth, and ensure greater access to infant formula options for families nationwide. The INFANT Tax Credit Act is a crucial step toward improving supply chain resiliency, and I’m proud to work with Rep. Nunn on this bipartisan effort.”

Infant formula is the most highly regulated food. In the U.S., oversight and regulation of infant formula is akin to pharmaceuticals rather than food products. As a result of the high and costly barriers to entry, until 2022 there had not been a single new manufacturer registered with the FDA in 15 years.

“ByHeart is proud to support the INFANT Tax Credit Act—an important step in fortifying our country’s supply chain to help prevent future infant formula shortages and ensure that families never have to worry about finding formula for their babies again,” said Ron Belldegrun, ByHeart Co-Founder and CEO. “As the first new U.S. formula manufacturer in decades, with facilities in Iowa, Pennsylvania, and Oregon, ByHeart is committed to making the highest quality infant formula in the world, with a mission of helping all parents feel confident about how they feed their babies. But we’re also working to encourage more companies to join us in innovating on behalf of babies and doing better for their health. This bill will support more companies in building manufacturing facilities and offering parents more options. This is a critical step in building a stronger infant nutrition industry and creating healthier futures for our babies. We applaud Representative Nunn’s and Rep. Houlahan’s leadership on this critical issue.”

The bipartisan INFANT Tax Credit Act would create a transferrable tax credit for small, domestic infant formula manufacturers across the nation. For any taxable year, manufacturers may receive a credit equal to 25% of their qualified investment, including manufacturers impacted during the height of the infant formula shortage crisis in 2022. Additionally, this bill provides a production tax credit to allow companies to receive $1.50 per pound of infant formula produced.

The INFANT Tax Credit Act would also require the Secretary of Agriculture to develop a plan to ensure existing business development programs at the Department of Agriculture encourage competition in the infant formula supply chain.

Text of the bill can be found here.

(Radio Iowa) – The State Racing and Gaming Commission fined the Tippico sports book five-thousand dollars for allowing a bet on how many interceptions the quarterback would have in the Super Bowl. They issued a second fine of 15-thousand dollars for allowing a bet on how many points Caitlin Clark would have in an N-C-A-A tournament game. Both type of bets are not allowed by Iowa law. Tippico spokesman Brian Schroeder says they made adjustments to put a warning in the system, but they were ignored.

“The trader disregarded the pop up and the lead did not see the alert,” he says. Schroeder says the company has since been acquired by M-G-M and ended its business in Iowa. The Prairie Meadows Casino was fined 45-thousand dollars for two violations. One violation involved an 18-year-old male who got onto the gambling floor. Prairie Meadows security director Jake Hedgecock says the teen had been turned away twice.

He says the male was denied entrance to the casino and went out and changed his clothes and came back to another door where he was stopped denied entrance again. Hedgecock says they then review video surveillance to see if the individual had been at the casino before. “We used our license plate reader to do due diligence to see if this person did come back on the property. Surveillance conducted an audit, the audit confirmed he did come back on the property. We shared those results with the commission,” he says.

The casino agreed to a 20-thousand dollar fine for that violation. Hedgecock says they did more training with security on identifying underage gamblers. There was a second violation when an 18-year-old female was allowed onto the gaming floor with an adult and played a slot machine. Hedgecock says the security guard was disciplined for not stopping the teen.

The casino played a 20-thousand dollar fine for that violation, and was fined another five-thousand dollars for being one day late in updating the list of self-banned gamblers.

(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa Business Council’s (IBC) second-quarter Economic Outlook Survey shows some declines in what members are expecting in the next six months. I-B-C president Joe Murphy says there are some concerns. “Expectations across sales, capitol spending and employment expectations all declined from the previous quarter’s report,” he says. Murphy says much of the concern in those three measures stems from what’s going on at the national economy, including inflation and other issues.

“While we do have these perpetual concerns around the economy, the Iowa Business Council is one again projecting a positive six-month outlook for Iowa’s economy,” Murphy says.

Concerns about workforce attraction and retention remain the number one concern, with 63 percent of the surveyed executives listing it as a primary business challenge. An unfavorable business climate (national supply chain, infrastructure, and federal regulations) was cited by 47 percent of I-B-C executives while challenges surrounding inflation and growing concerns about the domestic economy tied with 32 percent to round out the top three primary business concerns. Murphy says the overall positive outlook is based on Iowa’s economy that has been stronger than other states.

“Revenue receipts continue to perform well from a tax standpoint. Companies are expanding, and that fact that we have a well diversified economy enables us to weather some of these economic conditions much better than our neighbors in the Midwest, and certainly around the rest of the country,” Murphy says.

The Iowa Business Council has 22 members who are the chief decision makers of major Iowa employers which have more than 160-thousand workers.

(Radio Iowa) – Ten Iowa regions have launched a “wage enhancement program” for childcare workers. It was financed with three MILLION dollars in federal pandemic relief money and Sheri Penney of the Iowa Women’s Foundation says Iowa businesses in those areas committed one-and-a-half MILLION dollars in matching funds.  “We’ve had so much success in this,” Penney says. “We’ve had over 110 children in these 10 piloted communities in just six months time be able to be taken off of wait lists.” Penney says the program has helped existing child care centers hire and retain employees, plus it’s helping other centers get started.

“In Cerro Gordo County for example, we had a provider opening and they received over 18 quality applications because of this wage and incentive program that we have,” she says. Officials in Cerro Gordo County, along with Allamakee, Hamilton, Howard, Johnson, Mitchell and Story Counties have each established the incentives for child care workers in their areas. The program’s operating in the cities of Dubuque and Knoxville as well as the two Linn County cities of Mount Vernon and Lisbon.

The federal money for the programs must be spent by the end of September. Penney is encouraging the cities and counties involved to set up “child care solutions” funds with public-private funds to continue the effort. “Once we have providers in the doors, earning liveable wages, maybe the next need is going to be for capital to expand because now we have fully staffed centers, we still have long wait lists….we need to add an addition…into our child care centers,” Penney says. “The next step after that maybe it’s helping provide insurance premiums…because we know that’s hard for some of our child care providers.”

Penney’s job at the Iowa Women’s Foundation is to expand child care availability throughout the state and her work is being financed by grants from two state agencies. “I am now working with over 180 communities, 170 business leaders and over 40 economic development chambers in just two years,” Penney says. “That tells you the need is there.”

Penney made her comments at the recent National Childcare Innovation Summit hosted by the U-S Chamber of Commerce.

DES MOINES – Gov. Kim Reynolds today (Tuesday) announced her appointment of Ashley West-Joons as a district associate judge in Judicial District 4.  Judicial District 4 includes Audubon, Cass, Fremont, Harrison, Mills, Montgomery, Page, Pottawattamie, and Shelby counties.

West-Joons, of Missouri Valley, Iowa, is an attorney at West Law Office and also serves as the Harrison County Attorney. She received her undergraduate degree from the University of Iowa and her law degree from Creighton University.

West-Joons fills a vacancy created following the resignation of the Hon. Justin Wyatt.

DES MOINES – The Iowa Department of Natural Resources is investigating a wastewater discharge at the City of Glenwood in Mills County.

On July 9, the Iowa DNR Field Office in Atlantic received a call from Glenwood Municipal Utilities (GMU) regarding a wastewater bypass due to a main which had become plugged.

The discharge was discovered around 7:45 a.m. near 901 North Vine St in Glenwood. It is estimated that up to 500 gallons of sewage flowed onto the ground and a portion of it flowed into a storm drain which outlets in a small creek that connects to Rogers Branch and then into Keg Creek. GMU staff were able to remove the blockage and officials say the discharge has stopped.

Cleanup efforts have begun. Residents are advised to avoid the area. No dead fish have been observed at this time. The Iowa DNR will follow up with the city for further assessment.

To report a release after hours, please call the DNR’s emergency spill line at (515) 725-8694. Quick reporting can help DNR staff identify the cause of an incident. The DNR website has more information about spill reporting requirements.