美国国家公共电台 NPR--House lawmakers hold hearings into the baby formula shortage

House lawmakers hold hearings into the baby formula shortage

Transcript¹

NPR's Leila Fadel talks to Rep. Rosa DeLauro about a House panel hearing that questioned why it took the FDA four months to issue warnings about baby formula that didn't meet safety requirements.

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

Abbott Nutrition, the company at the heart of the nationwide baby formula shortage, says it will reopen a troubled plant next week. But Congress wants to know why it took months for the Food and Drug Administration to warn consumers about safety lapses² at that Michigan plant. A whistleblower sent a 34-page report to senior FDA officials last October. The FDA didn't investigate until January. Two House panels held hearings on the shortage yesterday, including the House Appropriations³ Committee. Representative Rosa DeLauro leads that committee, and she joins us now. Good morning.

ROSA DELAURO: Good morning. How are you this morning?

FADEL: I'm doing well. I hope you are, too.

DELAURO: Indeed, thank you.

FADEL: The FDA says the whistleblower report didn't reach the highest rungs of the organization due to staffing shortages in the pandemic and mailroom issues. What's your response to that?

DELAURO: Well, I think - let me be clear. We're not going to get to the bottom of what went wrong if everyone involved wants to skirt accountability. The questions today as to whether or not there's a mailroom foul⁴ up is really quite extraordinary because we know there was an email communication as well, and that was outlined and sent to specific people. So why wasn't the whistleblower contacted by the FDA until December? The mailroom is just, again, skirting responsibility, and the FDA needs to take responsibility for dragging their feet for four months and seeing that we had a company, Abbott Nutrition, that falsified their reports, the records, the testing was all falsified. They released untested infant formula. They hid information during the FDA audit⁵, lax practices and cleanliness and a lack of traceability.

So you've got a bad actor in the company. You've got a federal agency who is responsible for regulation, the industry dragging its feet and not doing anything for four months in the meantime. We have a shortage of supply of infant formula, but we also have a food safety problem as well. And parents - it's heartbreaking.

FADEL: And you've said that you want Abbott to be held accountable. What does that look like?

DELAURO: Well, I - look, I called for - before I even knew there was a whistleblower's report, I called for an inspector⁶ general report when one of the first articles came out about this. That takes a while to occur. I want to see the investigation⁷ proceed and both - with regard to Abbott. And whatever the outcome is, they need to be held accountable for what they did. And the FDA has to be investigated as to find out what held up this critical, critical investigation so that we - there were at least two babies who died, and there are several others who were hospitalized. And we also need to take a look at the consolidation⁸ of the industry. Why does one company have 43% of the market? And why was there no contingency⁹ plan when it was determined¹⁰ that this was a contaminated product, 43% recall, taken off the shelf? Where was the contingency plan from Abbott and the contingency plan from the Food and Drug Administration?

FADEL: Now, last week, you introduced a bill that would provide $28 million in emergency funding for the FDA. How will that money help? What will it do?

DELAURO: Well, the FDA is - and I applaud Operation Formula Fly, which is something that I suggested. Let's bring in products from FDA-approved facilities that are overseas, and we have seven in Europe and two in Mexico. So the bulk of that $28 million is for staffing. The FDA does not have the staffing to inspect where product is coming from and to review the submissions¹¹ for infant formula application. I'm introducing further legislation tomorrow. It's called Keeping Infant Formula Safe and On the Shelves Act. It increases inspection¹² facilities, has unannounced inspections¹³. It's more frequent audits¹⁴, microbial testing so - to put regulatory practices in place at the FDA.

FADEL: Representative Rosa DeLauro is chair of the House Appropriations Committee. Thank you for your time.

DELAURO: Thank you so much.

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 lapses   

n.失误，过失( lapse的名词复数 )；小毛病；行为失检；偏离正道v.退步( lapse的第三人称单数 )；陷入；倒退；丧失

参考例句：

• He sometimes lapses from good behavior. 他有时行为失检。 来自辞典例句
• He could forgive attacks of nerves, panic, bad unexplainable actions, all sorts of lapses. 他可以宽恕突然发作的歇斯底里，惊慌失措，恶劣的莫名其妙的动作，各种各样的失误。 来自辞典例句

3 appropriations   

n.挪用（appropriation的复数形式）

参考例句：

• More commonly, funding controls are imposed in the annual appropriations process. 更普遍的作法是，拨款控制被规定在年度拨款手续中。 来自英汉非文学 - 行政法
• Should the president veto the appropriations bill, it goes back to Congress. 假如总统否决了这项拨款提案，就把它退还给国会。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件

4 foul   

adj.污秽的；邪恶的；v.弄脏；妨害；犯规；n.犯规

参考例句：

• Take off those foul clothes and let me wash them.脱下那些脏衣服让我洗一洗。
• What a foul day it is!多么恶劣的天气！

5 audit   

v.审计；查帐；核对；旁听

参考例句：

• Each year they audit our accounts and certify them as being true and fair.他们每年对我们进行账务审核，以确保其真实无误。
• As usual,the yearly audit will take place in December.跟往常一样，年度审计将在十二月份进行。

6 inspector   

n.检查员，监察员，视察员

参考例句：

• The inspector was interested in everything pertaining to the school.视察员对有关学校的一切都感兴趣。
• The inspector was shining a flashlight onto the tickets.查票员打着手电筒查看车票。

7 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

8 consolidation   

n.合并,巩固

参考例句：

• The denser population necessitates closer consolidation both for internal and external action. 住得日益稠密的居民，对内和对外都不得不更紧密地团结起来。 来自英汉非文学 - 家庭、私有制和国家的起源
• The state ensures the consolidation and growth of the state economy. 国家保障国营经济的巩固和发展。 来自汉英非文学 - 中国宪法

9 contingency   

n.意外事件，可能性

参考例句：

• We should be prepared for any contingency.我们应该对任何应急情况有所准备。
• A fire in our warehouse was a contingency that we had not expected.库房的一场大火是我们始料未及的。

10 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

11 submissions   

n.提交( submission的名词复数 )；屈从；归顺；向法官或陪审团提出的意见或论据

参考例句：

• The deadline for submissions to the competition will be Easter 1994. 递交参赛申请的截止时间为1994年的复活节。 来自辞典例句
• Section 556(d) allows the agency to substitute written submissions for oral direct testimony in rulemaking. 第五百五十六条第（四）款准允行政机关在规则制定中用书面提交材料替代口头的直接证言。 来自英汉非文学 - 行政法

12 inspection   

n.检查，审查，检阅

参考例句：

• On random inspection the meat was found to be bad.经抽查，发现肉变质了。
• The soldiers lined up for their daily inspection by their officers.士兵们列队接受军官的日常检阅。

13 inspections   

n.检查( inspection的名词复数 )；检验；视察；检阅

参考例句：

• Regular inspections are carried out at the prison. 经常有人来视察这座监狱。
• Government inspections ensure a high degree of uniformity in the standard of service. 政府检查确保了在服务标准方面的高度一致。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 audits   

n.审计，查账( audit的名词复数 )v.审计，查账( audit的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Requires that use of all bond funds is subject to independent audits. 需要使用的所有债券基金是受独立审计。 来自互联网
• Support the locations during customer-visits, audits and quality-improvement programs. 支持客户参观，稽核和提高品质等项目。 来自互联网