Washington D.C — At a time when energy bills, health care costs, and grocery prices are skyrocketing and devastating Americans’ finances, House Republicans decided to act…by voting for cuts to a program that helps pregnant mothers and children afford food. The bill, which passed the House on Thursday, would cut the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children commonly known as WIC by $140 million, slashing funding for a program that supports over 5.4 million pregnant women, postpartum mothers, and children.
“Republicans in Congress have decimated SNAP funding, ended vital health care tax credits for millions of Americans, supported cost-raising tariffs, and jeopardized health care access by cutting Medicaid – and now they are callously attempting to take away food assistance for pregnant women and children,” said Unrig Our Economy Campaign Director Leor Tal. “At a time when working people are already struggling to put food on the table and support their families, congressional Republicans continue to twist the knife. Americans nationwide want their elected representatives to focus on helping them – not dishing out money for ballrooms and billionaires.”
The Washington Post: House bill rolls back food aid for pregnant women, children.
Key Points:
- As grocery prices continue to rise nationally, the House on Thursday passed an appropriations bill that would cut funding for a program that helps pregnant women and children purchase healthy foods.
- Under the legislation, the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children — more commonly known as WIC — would lose $141 million in funding for fruit and vegetable benefits for the nearly 5.4 million children and pregnant and postpartum women enrolled.
- The National WIC Association, an advocacy group for public health nutrition providers, estimated that the bill would reduce monthly fruit and vegetable benefits from $52 to $13 for breastfeeding mothers and from $26 to $10 for young children.
- Democrats on the House floor argued that vulnerable Americans — particularly children — will lose access to fresh foods even as costs for the average consumer rise in part because of President Donald Trump’s tariffs and the war in Iran.
- “Republicans promised prices would come down on day one,” Rep. Jim McGovern (D-Massachusetts) said. “Well, here a year-and-a-half in and everything’s up. Groceries are up. Energy costs are up. Inflation is up. Their answer to pregnant women paying high grocery costs is to cut WIC by $200 million.”
To learn more about the campaign, visit UnrigOurEconomy.com or contact press@unrigoureconomy.com
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About Unrig Our Economy
Unrig Our Economy is a national campaign to fix the rules of our economy to make it work for working people. We know that when the middle class does well, all of us do well — which is why we’re fighting on behalf of working Americans and holding corporations, their wealthy executives, and the politicians who enable them accountable.