The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children, commonly called WIC, is at risk of running out of funds in a week or two if the government shutdown continues, according to officials. The program, which provides essential nutrition and health support to low-income families, still has some funding left, but it only has enough to operate for a short time.
The National WIC Association is issuing a warning about the urgent need for Congress to act to continue funding the WIC program.
“The timing of this shutdown at the start of the new fiscal year puts WIC at risk of rapidly running out of funds. This failure needlessly jeopardizes the health and nutrition of millions of pregnant women, new mothers, infants, and young children who rely on WIC,” Georgia Machell, president and CEO of the National WIC Association, said in a statement.
Shutdown timing raises stakes
When a government shutdown happens at the start of the fiscal year, which begins on Oct. 1 for the U.S. federal government, it means no new funds have been approved yet because Congress hasn’t passed a continuing resolution. If a government agency does not have leftover funds from the previous year to rely on, everything is on pause until funding is approved.
“Congress must act with urgency to pass legislation that fully funds WIC, keeps the federal government open, and ensures that federal appropriations law cannot be undermined by administrative actions,” Machell added. “Every day of inaction brings us closer to a crisis. Failure to rapidly reopen the government could result in State WIC directors being put in the horrible position of trying to manage their programs with insufficient funds.”
The WIC program requires yearly funding through the appropriations process. Every year, Congress must approve funding for WIC as part of the Agriculture Appropriations bill.
Partisan divide deepens over blame
Both Republican and Democratic leaders continue to exchange blame over who is responsible for the government shutdown.
“The Democrat shutdown is hitting rural America HARD,” USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins posted to X on Wednesday. “WIC and other key nutrition programs at risk of running out of funding.”
House Democrats, including Reps. Bobby Scott, D-Va., and Suzanne Bonamici, D-Ore., wrote a letter to Secretary Rollins on Wednesday saying the USDA has the power to prevent disruptions to WIC during a shutdown if it commits now to covering the costs states might front temporarily.
“During the Fiscal Year 2014 government shutdown, states relied on their general funds to continue WIC services and were then reimbursed with federal funds once the shutdown was over; however, there is uncertainty over whether the federal government would take the same action this time,” they wrote in the letter.
According to the USDA, about 7 million women and children receive WIC benefits.
