Dear Friend,

Congress came back from their recess this week, the chaos has already
begun, and [ [link removed] ]your voice is needed ASAP to help protect WIC. I’ll cut to
the chase: Bipartisan leaders in the House of Representatives and Senate
have just reached a top-line deal to keep the government funded for the
remainder of the year [1]—but they have horrifyingly not yet agreed to
fully fund the Women, Infant, and Child Supplemental Nutrition Program
(WIC) at the level needed to prevent benefit cuts and/or waitlists.

We are 9 days away from the deadline for Congress to fully fund WIC before
the shortfall in funding begins. That is why TODAY MomsRising is joining
with organizations, advocates, and parents around the country for a WIC
Emergency Day of Action! We need to ring the alarm bells so Congress knows
they need to protect the health and nutrition of pregnant women/postpartum
moms, babies, and toddlers.

[ [link removed] ]Call now

Here are 3 high-impact, super-important, and fast ways you can take action
to protect WIC:

 1. [ [link removed] ]CALL your members of Congress and tell them “fully fund WIC
immediately!” We make it super easy for you—[ [link removed] ]click on our hotline
to Congress link (or you can simply text FundWIC to 888-418-5699) and
fill in your information and you’ll get a call on your phone
connecting you directly to your Senators’ offices. We even provide
you with written talking points to assist you in your call.

 

 1. [ [link removed] ]SIGN our letter to Congress calling on them to fully fund WIC.

 

 1. [ [link removed] ]SEND a letter supporting WIC to your local newspaper. Your U.S.
Senators and Representatives and their staff monitor what is being
said in their local papers! By submitting a letter you are helping us
raise the profile on this very important issue and publicly letting
Congress know we expect them to take action on WIC immediately. We
have created [ [link removed] ]a cool, easy-to-use tool where we provide sample
language and help you directly submit your letter to your local
newspaper. 

Here’s more info on what’s going on: Despite kicking the can down the road
multiple times last year, both the U.S. House of Representatives and the
Senate have so far failed to provide enough funding for WIC to serve
eligible women and children who apply for the program. Congress must fix
this by January 19th by passing a budget and/or at least fully funding WIC
so it can serve all the pregnant and postpartum moms, babies, and young
children that desperately need this nutrition and health program in order
to work and take care of their families. That’s soon right!?

Since 2020, WIC has experienced a 17% increase in child participation, and
the program is expected to serve as many as 7 million pregnant and
postpartum women, infants, and young children in fiscal year 2024. With
rising food costs, and increased program participation levels, it is more
critical than ever that we strengthen WIC to provide families with the
nutrition assistance, formula, and breastfeeding counseling they so
desperately need. Let’s show respect for the contributions of moms who are
the backbone of our economy and communities!

Extensive research has found WIC to be an economy boosting and
cost-effective investment that strengthens both our local and national
economy and improves the nutrition and health of hard-working low-income
families — leading to healthier infants, more nutritious diets and better
health care for children, and subsequently to higher academic achievement
for students.

This is why it’s an emergency and Congress needs to take action NOW!
Failing to do so would mean WIC will experience a funding shortfall in the
coming month which will lead to many women and children being waitlisted
for the program and/or their benefits being cut. This hasn’t happened
since the 1990s!

Our timeline to protect WIC is rapidly approaching so after you take the 3
actions above please forward this email to your friends and family so they
can take action as well. 

Thank you so much for everything you do to protect our families!

-Elyssa, Hanna, Sue Anne, Nate, Donna, Kristin, and the whole
MomsRising.org & MamásConPoder Team

 

References:

[1] "[ [link removed] ]Congress reaches a deal on how much to spend for 2024 as shutdown
deadline nears.” NBC News, January 7, 2024.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

[ [link removed] ]Vote     [ [link removed] ]Facebook     [ [link removed] ]Twitter     [ [link removed] ]Radio     [ [link removed] ]Donate     

[ [link removed] ]Register to vote! / [ [link removed] ]¡Regístrese para votar!

[ [link removed] ]Join our Spanish language community, MamásConPoder.org

What should MomsRising tackle next? [ [link removed] ]Tell us!


You can unsubscribe from this mailing list at any time:
[link removed]