On Thursday, U.S. legislators grilled Dr. Robert Califf of the Food and Drug Administration about the nationwide shortage in baby formula that has left American parents scrambling for food. They called Califf’s agency’s response “dereliction” 

“The lack of action from the FDA, corporate greed, and consolidation caused the shortage,” stated Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn) during a hearing on the House Appropriations Subcommittee.  

Califf was the first official from the administration to give evidence before Congress about the shortage. This has caused fear among parents and frustrated them, prompting lawmakers of both parties to seek answers. 

The closure of the Abbott Nutrition Sturgis plant, Mich. in response to the infant formula shortage was a major point made by lawmakers. In addition, they criticized FDA’s failure to respond to a whistleblower complaint in October. The FDA had been accused of numerous safety violations including failing to correctly test formula and falsifying records.

The FDA closed the plant in February — after four infants who drank formula produced there contracted bacterial infections, two of whom died. 

American babies formula accounts for 98%. Four manufacturers – Abbott, Mead Johnson Nutrition, Nestle USA and Perrigo – dominate the market. The supply chain can be easily interrupted if one plant is shut down.

DeLauro was the chairman of the subcommittee. He condemned the FDA for their delayed response and pointed out that inspections of Abbott’s facility were only started by the FDA several months after September’s first case of bacterial infected. 

DeLaura opened her statement by saying that FDA’s slow response caused product to remain on shelves for too long, potentially putting baby at risk. 

Califf recognized the frustrations felt by parents all over the U.S. because of the scarcity. However, he acknowledged that the problem existed before Abbott was in controversy. He noted that both the Russian invasion and pandemic of Ukraine had all affected infant formula supply chains. 

Califf also stated that FDA had been “working tirelessly” to solve this problem this week.

This hearing is one day after President Joe Biden invokedDefense Production Act is a law that requires baby formula suppliers to supply key producers with ingredients. This will increase baby formula’s availability. President Obama also announced a program to use U.S. military airplanes to import formula from overseas manufacturers. 

Hours after the House, the hearing takes place. passed two billsThe legislation was designed to address the issue of shortage. DeLauro would sponsor the major piece of legislation. This emergency funding for FDA would be $28,000,000 to support inspections of foreign formulas and avoid future shortages.

— CNBC’s Spencer Kimball contributed to this article.