House Democrats floated legislation on Tuesday that would preserve money for a federal nutrition program that helps feed more than 40% of US infants during government shutdowns.
The bill, backed by 70 lawmakers, seeks to make funding mandatory for the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children, which provided free food, breastfeeding resources, and other services to about 6.7 million low-income women and their children each month during fiscal 2024. Congress pays for the program commonly referred to as WIC via annual appropriations, so states distributing benefits have had to draw from reserve funds as the ...