Specialized Infant Formula Protection Act

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 4940 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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119th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 4940

  To ensure the continued availability of specialized infant formula
   regulated by the Food and Drug Administration for preterm babies.

_______________________________________________________________________

                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             June 24, 2026

   Ms. Ernst introduced the following bill; which was read twice and
               referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

  To ensure the continued availability of specialized infant formula
   regulated by the Food and Drug Administration for preterm babies.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Specialized Infant Formula
Protection Act''.

SEC. 2. PURPOSE AND FINDINGS.

    (a) Purpose.--The purpose of this Act is to ensure the continued
availability of specialized infant formula regulated by the Food and
Drug Administration for preterm babies.
    (b) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
            (1) Each year, nearly 380,000 infants are born preterm in
        the United States. Each year, specialized, preterm infant
        formula is manufactured and ordered by hospitals to nourish
        hospitalized and other newborns who are unable to be fed by
        their mother's milk.
            (2) Preterm infants in critical and intensive care
        facilities depend on access to specialized preterm infant
        formula, formula which is regulated by the Food and Drug
        Administration.
            (3) Efforts by some parties to engage in procedural
        gamesmanship through court and jurisdiction shopping in State
        courts for cases related to preterm infant formula may lead to
        a limited domestic supply of critical preterm infant formula
        for vulnerable babies in the United States.
            (4) Because preterm infant formula is under the
        jurisdiction and oversight of the Food and Drug Administration,
        it is in the best interest of preterm babies and their families
        who depend on specialized, preterm formula to have Federal
        courts maintain jurisdiction over adjudication of civil claims,
        thus ensuring uniform judicial remedies.

SEC. 3. FEDERAL JURISDICTION OVER CERTAIN INFANT FORMULA ACTIONS.

    Section 1332 of title 28, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) by redesignating subsection (e) as subsection (f); and
            (2) by inserting after subsection (d) the following:
    ``(e) Infant Formula Mass Claims.--
            ``(1) In general.--The district courts shall have original
        jurisdiction of any civil action arising out of alleged injury
        caused in whole or in part by preterm infant formula regulated
        by the Food and Drug Administration, if--
                    ``(A) any plaintiff and any defendant in the action
                are citizens of different States; or
                    ``(B) any plaintiff is a citizen of a State and any
                defendant is a citizen or subject of a foreign state.
            ``(2) Rule of construction.--Nothing in this subsection
        shall be construed to limit the authority of the judicial panel
        on multidistrict litigation under section 1407.''.

SEC. 4. REMOVAL.

    Section 1441 of title 28, United States Code, is amended by adding
at the end the following:
    ``(g) Infant Formula Actions.--Any civil action bought in a State
court over which the district courts of the United States would have
jurisdiction under section 1332(e) shall be removable by any defendant
without the consent of all defendants.''.

SEC. 5. APPLICABILITY.

    This Act, and the amendments made by this Act, shall apply to any
civil action pending on, or filed on or after, the date of enactment of
this Act, without regard to the State court filing date.
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