tschram

Q: What caused the nationwide shortage of baby formula in the United States? A: During COVID-19 lockdowns, Americans met with the inconvenience of empty store shelves for possibly the first time in their lifetimes as manufacturing and distribution channels were diverted to produce personal protection equipment (PPE) or sidelined by labor force shortages. Being forced to switch toilet paper brands or fix something else for supper is small potatoes compared to what’s happening in stores across America today.

Here’s a headline I would never have thought I’d read in America in 2022: “Iowa families scour stores for baby formula.” But that’s the grim reality today under President Biden. In their reporting, the Des Moines Register cataloged the story of one mother who visited more than five different stores without finding the formula she needed for her newborn.

Isn’t it strange? We move through life and suddenly “discover” anew what our ancestors knew for years - probably thinking they had “discovered” them. What is it I am rambling about? Well – it started like this – about a million or so years ago .

Q: What measures have you led in the 117th Congress to improve mental health services? A: By all accounts, one of the crushing consequences resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic is the toll on mental wellness among Americans from all walks of life. From bereavement among those who lost loved ones, to young people kept out of the classroom, a collective sense of uncertainty gripped heads of households and small business owners, restrictions kept elderly nursing home residents isolated from loved ones and took away milestone moments for tens of millions of families.