Priority Messages and Legislation
As Congress is now split between a Republican House and Democratic Senate, WIC must sustain and grow its long record of bipartisan support. With more than 6.4 million women, infants, and children relying on WIC support, the WIC provider community must collectively raise its voice to secure necessary changes and build momentum for a modern WIC experience.
WIC policy is determined through the House Education and Workforce Committee and the Senate Agriculture Committee. The latter committee is prioritizing the 2023 Farm Bill, a comprehensive reauthorization of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and farm subsidies. Aligning committee priorities between the House and Senate presents an added challenge to securing a fuller reauthorization of WIC and child nutrition programs.
WIC funding is determined through the House and Senate Appropriations Committees, particularly through the Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee. These committees will assess whether WIC funding will need to increase to cover program costs stemming from participation increases, food inflation, and the lingering effects of 2022’s infant formula shortages. NWA is firmly committed to assuring ongoing authority and funding for WIC’s fruit and vegetable bump and USDA’s proposed food packages
Broader policy that impacts WIC families may extend to other committees. This is especially common in health policy that overlaps with WIC service delivery, including the Black Maternal Health Momnibus and Medicaid proposals.