State Dept. Yet to Respond to Letter by Pressley, Pettersen, 101 Colleagues Urging Surge in Aid Amid Severe Famine in Gaza

Text of the Letter (PDF)

WASHINGTON – Today, Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (MA-07) and Congresswoman Brittany Pettersen (CO-07) issued the following statement upon receiving no response from Secretary Marco Rubio regarding their letter with over 100 colleagues demanding a surge in humanitarian aid, and in particular infant formula, into Gaza to address the crisis of starvation.

Last week, Reps. Pressley and Pettersen led 101 of their colleagues in sending a letter 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. The letter followed the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification’s (IPC) official declaration of famine in Gaza, with the United Nations warning that more than half a million people are on the brink of starvation.

“The Trump Administration’s silence in this moment is unacceptable, and their inaction is deadly. Every day that goes by deepens the suffering in Gaza, worsens the starvation crisis, and denies innocent babies the formula they need to survive. We all have a moral obligation to ensure that drastic increases in aid enter Gaza. This is an all-hands on deck moment and it’s essential that the U.S. play a leading role.

“Secretary Rubio must press the Israeli government to continue to increase humanitarian aid into Gaza by working alongside the U.N. and other organizations to distribute aid, including ensuring infant formula reaches every baby who needs it. We must act now before more parents are robbed of their babies and forced to watch their families suffer.

In their letter, 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.The letter cites alarming figures, including the deaths of 18,500 children in Gaza since October 2023, more than 20,000 children treated for acute malnutrition since April 2025, and widespread famine conditions that have deprived mothers the basic nutrition required to sustain breastfeeding, rendering formula the only option for infant survival in many cases.

The lawmakers also highlighted the failures of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation system to deliver the necessary aid for months and the urgent need to surge food supplies. According to the Israeli government’s own data, the GHF has delivered only a tiny fraction of the aid previously distributed under the U.N.-coordinated system, while average daily truck entries remain far below the 500–600 trucks the U.N. says are required to meet humanitarian needs.

A copy of the letter can be found here.

Relevant background regarding Rep Pressley’s work

Rep. Pressley has long advocated for safe and accessible baby formula. Rep Pressley has consistently called for peace and a ceasefire in Gaza to save the lives of civilians, hostages, Palestinians, Israelis, and Americans.

In May 2022, Rep. Pressley, along with and Congresswomen Pramila Jayapal (WA-07), Congressman Jamaal Bowman, Ed.D. (NY-16)  and Grace Meng (NY-06), urged President Biden to use all applicable executive authorities to end the baby formula shortage. In May 2022, Rep. Pressley, along with Rep. Lori Trahan (MA-03), Assistant Speaker Katherine Clark (MA-05) and the Massachusetts delegation, sent a letter to Abbott Laboratories Chairman and CEO Robert Ford requesting urgent information on the company’s plans to replenish its Similac baby formula in Massachusetts.

Since the horrific October 7^th attack, Congresswoman Pressley has consistently and stridently called for a ceasefire to save lives, return all hostages, and surge humanitarian aid to Gaza. Rep. Pressley delivered a floor speech in which she called for urgent de-escalation in the region and renewed her calls for a ceasefire in Gaza and Israel to prevent a broader regional war.  Rep. Pressley introduced a pair of amendments to increase funding to global humanitarian assistance and place a one-year moratorium on the transfer of offensive weapons to the Israeli military.

• Rep. Pressley joined Congresswoman Haley Stevens (D-MI) and their colleagues on a resolution condemning Hamas’ brutal attack and hostage-taking, and demanding Hamas immediately release all hostages.
• Rep. Pressley joined Reps. Jan Schakowsky (IL-09), Mark Pocan (WI-02), Pramila Jayapal (WA-07), James P. McGovern (MA-02), and 50 colleagues on a letter condemning the terrorist attacks by Hamas on the people of Israel, calling for Israeli military operations to follow the rules of international humanitarian law, and continuing to work toward peace in the region.
• Rep. Pressley joined her colleagues in announcing a resolution urging the Biden Administration to call for an immediate de-escalation and ceasefire in Israel and Gaza, to send humanitarian aid and assistance to Gaza, and to save as many lives as possible. She later joined her colleagues and a multi-faith, multiracial coalition of faith leaders and organizers for a prayer and press conference to renew their calls for a ceasefire. Rep. Pressley also joined dozens of rabbis and Members of Congress for a press conference to renew calls for a ceasefire in Gaza.
• Instead of attending Prime Minister Netanyahu’s address to Congress, Rep. Pressley spent the day centering people directly impacted by Israel’s ongoing war in Gaza
• Rep. Pressley delivered a floor speech in which she condemned antisemitism, Islamophobia, and all forms of hate on college campuses.
• Rep. Pressley joined a coalition of nearly 100 interfaith clergy and faith leaders on a joint statement on Martin Luther King Jr. Day calling for a ceasefire in Gaza.
• Rep. Pressley joined Reps. Grace Meng (D-NY), Nicole Malliotakis (R-NY), and nearly 150 colleagues in urging the State Department to use all tools at its disposal help get Americans out of Israel and back home to the United States. She applauded the State Department for heeding her calls on October 12, 2023 and continues to press for the urgent evacuation of Americans in Gaza.
• Rep. Pressley issued a statement following the safe evacuation of Massachusetts constituents Wafaa and Abood Okal and their one-year-old Yousef from Gaza.
• Rep. Pressley and Rep. Jamie Raskin led a group of 60 House lawmakers in urging the State Department to affirm the United States’ strong opposition to the forced and permanent displacement of Palestinians from Gaza, and to support an increase in humanitarian aid to the region.
• Rep. Pressley joined Representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY-14), Mark Pocan (WI-2), Betty McCollum (MN-4) and 20 of their colleagues in sending a letter to President Biden, asking him to support a bilateral ceasefire in Gaza to protect the one million children living there.
• Rep. Pressley joined a coalition of interfaith clergy and faith leaders for a vigil to mourn the tens of thousands of Palestinians, Israelis, and innocent civilians killed since October 7^th, and to renew calls for a ceasefire to save lives, return all hostages, and deliver humanitarian aid to the region.
• Rep. Pressley joined her colleagues at a press conference to condemn the Israeli government’s pending invasion of Rafah and continued her calls for a ceasefire in Gaza.
• Rep. Pressley joined her colleagues in calling for full funding of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) to provide urgent humanitarian relief to Gaza.
• Rep. Pressley joined Representatives Joaquín Castro, Jamie Raskin, Jan Schakowsky and 33 House Democrats to President Biden urging him to prevent an Israeli ground invasion of Rafah.
• Rep. Pressley, amid heightened tensions in the region, delivered a floor speech in which she called for urgent de-escalation in the Middle East and renewed her calls for a ceasefire in Gaza to prevent a broader regional war.
• Rep. Pressley filed a pair of amendments to increase funding to global humanitarian assistance and place a one-year moratorium on the transfer of offensive weapons to the Israeli military. The amendments were not adopted in the final legislation. 
• Rep. Pressley voted against HR 8034 to send more offensive weapons and funding to the Israeli military, citing the Israeli military’s callous disregard for human life in Gaza and significant human rights violations.
• Rep. Pressley issued a statement on the peaceful student protests taking place in Massachusetts and across the country.
• Rep. Pressley issued a statement applauding the Boston City Council for passing a resolution calling for a ceasefire in Gaza.
• Rep. Pressley joined Representatives Pramila Jayapal (WA-07), Madeleine Dean (PA-04) and 54 additional lawmakers in calling on the Biden Administration to use all tools possible to dissuade the Israeli government from moving forward with an offensive invasion into Rafah.
• Rep. Pressley issued a statement in response to the escalating situation in the Middle East.
• Rep. Pressley joined impacted families, faith leaders, and advocates to observe the anniversary of the horrific October 7, 2023 attack and commemorate the 1,200 Israelis killed by Hamas, the hostages killed and those still kidnapped, and the over 41,000 Palestinians in Gaza killed by the Israeli military over the past year.
• Rep. Pressley issued a statement marking the one-year anniversary of the horrific October 7^th attack.
• Rep. Pressley issued a statement urging the Senate to support Senator Bernie Sanders’ Joint Resolutions of Disapproval that would block the sale of offensive arms to the Israeli government.
• Rep. Pressley issued a statement on the ceasefire-hostage deal reached between Israel and Hamas in January 2025.

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