The House Energy and Commerce Committee’s investigations panel will hold a hearing later this month on infant formula shortages, an issue that has parents nationwide worried.

“The nationwide infant formula shortages are increasingly alarming and demand Congress’s immediate attention,” said Rep. Frank Pallone Jr. (D-N.J.), who chairs the committee.

Pallone, in his statement, commended the Biden administration’s recent actions to increase formula supplies and said the focus of the hearing, scheduled for May 25, will be on “better understanding the causes of the shortage, what has been done to increase production and supply thus far, and what more still needs to be done to ensure access to safe formula across the nation.”

The shortage is due, in part, to “supply chain challenges, product recalls and historic inflation,” Ben Reich, chief executive of Datasembly, which tracks retail information, told our colleagues. As of last week, formula stockpiles were 43 percent lower than normal, data showed, compared with 30 to 40 percent lower last month.

The FDA said Tuesday that it is “doing everything in our power” to address the crisis, including meeting with major manufacturers to find ways to increase production and expedite reviews of manufacturing changes.

But the agency has drawn bipartisan criticism for not moving faster amid early signs that shortages were coming.