With Starvation Crisis Still Dire, Lawmakers Request Real-Time, Weekly Updates on Aid Distributed to Starving Families
WASHINGTON – Today, Senator Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (MA-07), and Congresswoman Brittany Pettersen (CO-07) issued the following statement upon receiving a written response from the State Department to their Senate and House letters with over 100 colleagues demanding a surge in humanitarian aid, and infant formula in particular, into Gaza:
“In August, we led over 100 members of Congress in a letter urging Secretary Rubio to take all steps to surge aid, specifically ready to feed infant formula to families in Gaza to address the starvation crisis. While we appreciate the State Department’s written response on this dire matter, meaningful action is long overdue to ensure we do not lose any more innocent civilians to starvation. We are encouraged by the announced ceasefire agreement and the increase in aid in the region and urge all parties to fulfill their obligations to ensure this ceasefire holds,” said the lawmakers in a joint statement. “The United States has a pressing obligation to urgently act to address the starvation crisis on the ground by leading the effort to coordinate the surge of medical supplies, humanitarian aid, and ready to feed baby formula, while addressing the barriers on the ground to distribution. We call on the Department of State to provide members of Congress an accurate and real-time report of the quantity and type of aid successfully distributed to families in Gaza on a weekly basis. No parent should bury their child. The cries of hungry infants must be met with urgency. The United States must act now.”
In August, Gallego, Pressley, and Pettersen led their Senate and House colleagues, respectively, in sending letters to Secretary Rubio urging that the Trump administration use its full power to prioritize the additional surge of humanitarian aid, including the pallets of ready-to-feed baby formula that are sitting at the border, by facilitating the distribution by the Israeli government, alongside the United Nations and our allies.
In their letters, the lawmakers sounded the alarm over the catastrophic shortage of baby formula and due to previous restrictions on humanitarian aid distribution, which has led to a crisis in Gaza. Infants in particular are especially vulnerable to death by starvation.
In July, Senator Gallego also joined colleagues in urging the Trump Administration to resume diplomatic efforts to secure a ceasefire agreement and end the war.
11/14/25