“Now, Congress must act swiftly to reaffirm their longstanding bipartisan commitment to kids and families by passing this legislation without further delay,” said Gromley.
Contact: Ryan Flaherty — rflaherty@strength.org
WASHINGTON, DC — Over the weekend, Congressional leaders released the text of the appropriations bills set to be voted on by lawmakers this week. This includes the Ag-FDA bill which provides WIC with adequate funding of just over $7 billion ensuring that no eligible families are turned away due to a funding shortfall. The following is a statement from Jason Gromley, Senior Director of Government Relations and Advocacy for Share Our Strength and its No Kid Hungry campaign:
“This bipartisan agreement is a positive step toward ensuring that the WIC program can continue to serve the 7 million pregnant women, new moms, infants and young children expected to participate in the program this year, and we urge Congress to act quickly.
“No family should have to choose between keeping the lights on and buying groceries. Families are facing enough financial stress from high food and housing costs. WIC helps parents stretch their budget by helping provide formula, fruits, vegetables and other nutritious foods based on their specific needs.
“If this bill is passed, the impact will be felt immediately across the country. State and local agencies will no longer be forced to turn away qualifying moms and young kids because of budget shortfalls. Now, they know they can continue supporting families at a critical time of development.
“This agreement also rejects harmful efforts that would have restricted the use of SNAP benefits in exchange for full WIC funding. These are two effective anti-hunger programs, and we are grateful negotiators chose not to pit them against each other. We urge lawmakers to continue prioritizing benefit access for families without diminishing the effectiveness of either program.
“We thank leadership in both the House and Senate, along with Reps. Granger & DeLauro and Sens. Murray & Collins for their work finalizing this agreement that will support millions of families. Now, Congress must act swiftly to reaffirm their longstanding bipartisan commitment to kids and families by passing this legislation without further delay.”
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About No Kid Hungry
No child should go hungry in America. But millions of kids in the United States live with hunger. No Kid Hungry is working to end childhood hunger by helping launch and improve programs that give all kids the healthy food they need to thrive. This is a problem we know how to solve. No Kid Hungry is a campaign of Share Our Strength, an organization committed to ending hunger and poverty.