H.R. 5759: INFANT Act of 2025

H.R. 5759, the Improving Newborn Formula Access for a Nutritious Tomorrow Act of 2025, would amend Section 17 of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966, codified at 42 U.S.C. 1786. The core change is simple but significant: WIC infant formula contracts would move from a single-contractor setup to a two-manufacturer competitive bidding system. The bill was introduced on 2025-10-14 and has 1 cosponsor.

The bill defines “competitive bidding” in exact terms. Under the new definition, the Secretary or a State agency must select 2 manufacturers offering the lowest price, based on sealed bids, for the product being purchased for the WIC program. Of those 2 selected manufacturers, 1 may be labeled the “primary manufacturer” and 1 may be labeled the “secondary manufacturer.” That means the government would no longer structure WIC formula purchasing around only one winning company.

The practical effect is to spread procurement across 2 infant formula manufacturers instead of 1. For WIC families, that could mean less disruption if one manufacturer has production problems or supply shortages. For manufacturers, it creates a market where 2 companies can win contracts at once, but only if they are the 2 lowest-price bidders under a sealed-bid process run by the Secretary of Agriculture or State agencies.

The bill also makes a series of technical wording changes to align the law with the new two-contract model. It replaces “primary” with “manufacturer” in Section 17(b)(22) and Section 17(h)(8)(A), removes the word “specific” from Section 17(b)(22), changes “a contract is awarded” to “contracts are awarded” in Section 17(b)(22), and removes the word “first” from the heading and text of Section 17(h)(8)(A)(v). Those edits matter because they rewrite the statute to reflect 2 awarded contracts instead of 1.