White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki responded to angst from Republicans over the government’s decision to feed babies in their care at the border during a baby formula shortage.
A number of Republicans have expressed outrage that President Joe Biden’s administration continues to provide baby formula for migrant infants while Americans deal with dire shortages.
At Friday afternoon’s briefing, Psaki was asked about that outrage, and pushed back by citing the law and the administration’s idea of morality:
Q Okay. Congresswoman Elise Stefanik — and she tweeted something I will read to you — but several other Republican politicians have also gone along this line. She says, “Joe Biden continues to put America last by shipping pallets of baby formula to the southern border as American families face empty shelves.” She says, “This is unacceptable.” Do you have a response to that?MS. PSAKI: Well, we do like facts here, so let me just give you a little sense of the facts on this one. There’s something called the Flores statemen- — Settlement, which she may or may not be aware of, that’s been in place since 1997. It requires adequate food and elsewhere, specifies age appropriateness, hence formula for kids under the age of one.CBP is following the law — that law that has been in place and been followed, by the way, by the past — every administration since 1997.So this has been a
law in the United States for a quarter century. It’s been followed by every administration. And on — but I would also note that we also think it’s morally the right thing to do. You know, and this is a difference from the last administration. It is the law, but we believe that when children and babies — or babies, I should say, are crossing the border with a family member, that providing them formula — formula is morally right. And so we certainly support the implementation of it.
Watch above via The White House and Reuters.