Congresswoman Castor worries about cuts in a nutrition program for low-income women and kids

U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor of Tampa Bay has expressed concerns about potential cuts in a program that could hurt low-income women and children who need food such as fruit and vegetables as well as nutrition education.

Castor was at an event Tuesday encouraging people to shop at local businesses, but questions from the media led to the Supplemental Nutritional Program for Woman, Infants, and Children (WIC).

She said it will be at the hands of “MAGA Republicans” if the program doesn’t get fully funded. (That’s a reference to former president Donald Trump and his GOP supporters.)

“It’s unfortunately women, kids, small business owners. Everyday people who pay the price,” Castor told the Florida Phoenix. “I mean, I cannot believe the chaos and dysfunction I’ve witnessed this year in Congress.”

Georgia Machell, the interim president and CEO of the National WIC Association, says that Congress needs to act in January to avoid a WIC funding shortfall that could lead to new applicants being turned away.

“For the nearly seven million women, infants and children who participate in WIC, the peace of mind that comes with knowing that WIC is on solid ground through the holidays is tempered by the growing uncertainty that looms when funding will expire on January 19,” Machell said in a statement last week.

“Congress has for months refused to consider the Administration’s urgent request for additional funds to cover WIC’s growing caseload. That inaction increases the chances that states may have to start turning eligible participants away in 2024, or that current participants may at some point face benefit cuts. Either outcome would be unnecessary and unacceptable.”

What will happen to WIC

The spending bill that President Joe Biden signed earlier this month to avert a government shutdown gave his administration and Congress until Jan. 19 to reach a bipartisan agreement on four spending bills, including agriculture-FDA legislation. That bill includes funding for WIC.

The program provides federal grants to states for supplemental foods, health care referrals, and nutrition education for low-income pregnant, breastfeeding and non-breastfeeding postpartum women, and to infants and children up to 5 who are found to be at nutritional risk, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.  It serves about half of all infants born in the U.S.

In late August, the White House called on Congress to provide an additional $1.4 billion for WIC to “support higher food costs and participation,” adding that without those additional funds, not all states would be able to serve all eligible participants. The USDA says that a failure to fully fund the program in January means some states would likely need to put eligible families on waiting lists.

Meanwhile, the House Republican proposals introduced earlier this year would reduce WIC funding at a level $185 million below fiscal year 2023, and would also cut fruit and vegetable benefits, according to an analysis by the National WIC Association, which describes itself as an advocacy voice for WIC.

House Republicans say that they just want to bring back the funding to pre-COVID levels.

“We must work to right-size programs, especially since the pandemic is over,” Maryland GOP Rep. Andy Harris told the PBS Newshour in September. “And President Biden has ended the public health emergency last month. And this is why we’re returning the WIC cash value voucher benefits to a normal sustainable inflation adjusted funding level.”

In late September, the White House, concerned about the potential for a government shutdown, said in a statement that without those additional funds, “women and children who count on WIC would soon start being turned away at grocery store counters.” They pointed their finger at “extreme House Republicans continued efforts to slash funding for vital programs.”

Castor says that congressional Republicans have their priorities mixed up if they’re not able to commit to fully fund the WIC program.

“You’re talking about women and kids right now?” she said. “That’s entirely backward, not to support babies. Women. Children.  How does your economy function if you don’t have healthy children and mothers who can provide for their families? So, they’re all about big corporations and tax cuts for the wealthy. Creating chaos. Meanwhile, everyday Americans are paying the price.”