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Extreme House Republicans’ Chaos Is Marching America Toward a Shutdown That Would Jeopardize Vital Nutrition Assistance for Nearly 7 Million Vulnerable Moms and Young Children [1]

['The White House']

Date: 2023-09-25

With less than one week before the end of the fiscal year, extreme House Republicans are playing partisan games with peoples’ lives and marching our country toward a government shutdown that would have damaging impacts across the country—including putting vital nutrition assistance at risk for nearly 7 million women and children who rely on the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC)—a program that serves nearly half of babies born in this country.



During an Extreme Republican Shutdown, women and children who count on WIC would soon start being turned away at grocery store counters, with a federal contingency fund drying up after just a few days and many states left with limited WIC funds to operate the program.



And the reason food assistance for these families is at risk is extreme House Republicans’ continued efforts to slash funding for vital programs, including WIC, rather than work in a bipartisan manner to keep the government open and address emergency needs for the American people. House Republicans have turned their backs on the bipartisan budget deal that a large majority of them voted for just a few months ago and proposed a continuing resolution (CR) that makes devastating cuts to programs that millions of hardworking Americans count on. While House Republicans continue to debate what CR to advance, they have consistently refused to include the Administration’s request for additional WIC funding that’s needed to ensure the program can serve every eligible pregnant woman, new mother, and infant and young child. Without the Administration’s funding request, states could soon be forced to institute waiting lists for WIC, causing mothers and children to lose access to the vital nutrition assistance.



Below is a state-by-state breakdown of the number of women and children at risk of losing critical nutrition assistance under an Extreme Republican Shutdown:

State Total WIC Recipients Women Children Infants Alabama 111,999 25,295 57,863 28,841 Alaska 18,484 4,000 10,492 3,992 Arizona 139,765 28,879 79,639 31,247 Arkansas 65,272 15,798 32,185 17,289 California 972,418 206,282 587,139 178,997 Colorado 87,752 19,916 49,214 18,622 Connecticut 47,236 9,990 25,609 11,637 Delaware 20,313 4,169 11,480 4,664 District of Columbia 11,718 2,959 5,668 3,091 Florida 421,294 97,869 225,544 97,881 Georgia 220,842 50,801 112,601 57,440 Hawaii 26,205 5,692 15,027 5,486 Idaho 30,766 6,718 17,607 6,441 Illinois 167,903 38,009 85,775 44,119 Indiana 148,179 33,280 80,497 34,402 Iowa 58,126 12,274 32,493 13,359 Kansas 47,399 10,471 26,197 10,731 Kentucky 119,884 24,169 68,821 26,894 Louisiana 96,890 26,232 42,030 28,628 Maine 18,356 3,693 10,605 4,058 Maryland 123,101 28,417 66,963 27,721 Massachusetts 125,921 24,995 76,851 24,075 Michigan 207,728 41,195 122,044 44,489 Minnesota 108,420 23,009 63,057 22,354 Mississippi 62,788 14,199 30,750 17,839 Missouri 90,913 22,650 44,217 24,046 Montana 14,107 3,010 8,035 3,062 Nebraska 36,949 7,703 21,699 7,547 Nevada 52,976 11,585 29,239 12,152 New Hampshire 13,599 2,554 8,550 2,495 New Jersey 166,841 36,534 95,921 34,386 New Mexico 36,719 9,273 18,229 9,217 New York 418,084 89,717 241,198 87,169 North Carolina 268,687 59,030 151,473 58,184 North Dakota 10,299 2,093 6,086 2,120 Ohio 179,262 42,341 93,119 43,802 Oklahoma 72,703 17,548 36,385 18,770 Oregon 78,764 16,951 47,164 14,649 Pennsylvania 177,335 39,331 97,269 40,735 Puerto Rico 92,752 19,050 52,847 20,855 Rhode Island 17,866 3,999 9,897 3,970 South Carolina 94,370 20,887 50,341 23,142 South Dakota 13,929 2,846 7,929 3,154 Tennessee 133,284 33,278 66,218 33,788 Texas 786,686 215,305 382,817 188,564 Utah 41,383 9,427 22,551 9,405 Vermont 10,975 2,168 6,905 1,902 Virginia 127,124 26,170 72,538 28,416 Washington 130,962 28,584 76,470 25,908 West Virginia 37,292 7,592 21,313 8,387 Wisconsin 91,070 18,466 53,500 19,104 Wyoming 7,484 1,745 4,028 1,711

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[1] Url: https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2023/09/25/extreme-house-republicans-chaos-is-marching-america-toward-a-shutdown-that-would-jeopardize-vital-nutrition-assistance-for-nearly-7-million-vulnerable-moms-and-young-children/

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