Rep. Rob Bresnahan (R-Pa.) on Tuesday introduced a bill to fund the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) during the government shutdown, as the funding lapse threatens payments of benefits if it continues.
It comes after the Trump administration earlier in October transferred $300 million in tariff revenue to WIC to prevent a funding lapse for the food aid program, which the National WIC Association warned last week was “rapidly depleting, and numerous states are projected to exhaust their resources for WIC benefits as early as next month.” It is unclear if there will be another transfer of funds to keep WIC funded.
“We’re grateful that the administration had advanced funds through the end of October. But the goal here is to not have innocent women, infants and children suffer because of legislators not being able to pass a budget,” Bresnahan told The Hill.
The Keep WIC Working Act would fund WIC during the shutdown until President Trump signs either a stopgap bill to fund the government or Congress appropriates funds to the Department of Agriculture. So far, Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.) and Zach Nunn (R-Iowa) have co-sponsored the bill.
Text of the bill is nearly identical to that of another bill to fund the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) during the shutdown, led by Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) in the Senate and Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-Iowa) in the House. Bresnahan has also co-sponsored the SNAP House bill as that food aid program is at risk of not being funded on Nov. 1.
“Talking about the SNAP program and making sure that’s adequately funded. I hope that WIC is also received in a similar capacity,” Bresnahan said.
It could be tough for the bill to get a vote, since Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) has kept the House out of session as Republicans aim to pressure Senate Democrats into accepting a “clean” continuing resolution to fund the government through Nov. 21. Democrats have called on Republicans to negotiate on health care priorities including an extension of ObamaCare enhanced subsidies at the end of the year, but Republicans have refused to negotiate until Democrats agree to open the government.
Asked in a Monday press conference about stand-alone votes on carve-outs for funding priorities like salaries for federal workers or SNAP in a shutdown, Johnson said those votes are a “waste of time” since Democrats are voting down the bills.
But after Johnson’s comments and Bresnahan introduced the bill on Tuesday, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said in a press conference that Senate Democrats would introduce a bill to fund SNAP and WIC during the shutdown.
The Department of Agriculture indicated that SNAP benefits would be suspended on Nov. 1 because of the shutdown, but Democratic officials in 25 states sued the Trump administration on Tuesday arguing that the administration is legally required to first tap the SNAP contingency fund. That has between $5 billion and $6 billion in it — not enough to cover the full cost of the $8 billion of November benefits.
“The easiest solution is just to vote to open the government and pass a clean continuing resolution,” Bresnahan told The Hill soon after Schumer’s comment, but he said the Democratic bill “certainly would be something to look at.”
Bresnahan said that last week he visited a nonprofit in his district, Maternal and Family Health Services, which works to connect families to WIC and other programs.
“They are genuinely concerned about what the end of this month is going to bring, and I don’t necessarily think it’s a partisan issue,” Bresnahan said.
More than 14,000 people rely on WIC in northeastern Pennsylvania, his office said.
Bresnahan added that he would like to see a long-term solution beyond a stopgap that is more than just “paper clips and bubble gum to get us though,” so Congress is not “sacrificing women and children.”
