WIC Act of 2021
Latest action · Mar 18, 2021 Referred to the House Committee on Education and Labor.
Progress
Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.
- IntroducedMar 18, 2021
- Passed HouseNot reached
- Passed SenateNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Wise Investment in Children Act of 2021 or the WIC Act of 2021
This bill expands eligibility for children to receive benefits under the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC).
Specifically, the bill
- extends eligibility for the program until the period that ends on the earlier of the sixth birthday of a child or when the child enters kindergarten;
- extends the certification period under the program for infants to up to two years, instead of the current one year; and
- increases the certification time under the program for postpartum women to a period of up to two years.
The bill also authorizes the Department of Agriculture to grant a waiver to a state, on request, that waives certification deadline requirements for the eligibility extensions if such state demonstrates there are unusual technological barriers to implementation, operational costs are not affordable within the nutrition services and administration grant of the state, or it is in the best interest of the program.
Cosponsors 30
Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Mar 18, 2021 to Dec 21, 2022; 4 are original cosponsors, there from the day it was introduced.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| R-AK | Don Young | Original | Mar 18, 2021 |
| R-PR | Jenniffer González-Colón | Original | Mar 18, 2021 |
| D-WA | Kim Schrier | Original | Mar 18, 2021 |
| D-CA | Linda T. Sánchez | Original | Mar 18, 2021 |
| D-WA | Adam Smith | Apr 5, 2021 | |
| D-ME | Chellie Pingree | Apr 5, 2021 | |
| D-OR | Earl Blumenauer | Apr 5, 2021 | |
| D-WI | Gwen Moore | Apr 5, 2021 | |
| D-NY | Paul Tonko | Apr 5, 2021 | |
| D-TN | Steve Cohen | Apr 5, 2021 | |
| D-NJ | Albio Sires | May 17, 2021 | |
| D-NH | Ann M. Kuster | May 17, 2021 | |
| D-HI | Ed Case | May 17, 2021 | |
| D-TX | Sylvia R. Garcia | May 17, 2021 | |
| D-CT | Jahana Hayes | Jun 15, 2021 | |
| D-OR | Suzanne Bonamici | Jun 15, 2021 | |
| R-PA | Brian K. Fitzpatrick | Jun 17, 2021 | |
| D-MI | Elissa Slotkin | Jun 28, 2021 | |
| D-CA | Karen Bass | Jun 28, 2021 | |
| D-CA | Mark DeSaulnier | Jul 6, 2021 | |
| D-TX | Henry Cuellar | Jul 16, 2021 | |
| D-CA | Josh Harder | Jul 16, 2021 | |
| D-HI | Kaiali'i Kahele | Sep 21, 2021 | |
| D-NH | Chris Pappas | Mar 11, 2022 | |
| D-CA | Salud O. Carbajal | Mar 11, 2022 | |
| D-TX | Lizzie Fletcher | Apr 4, 2022 | |
| D-WA | Suzan K. DelBene | Apr 7, 2022 | |
| D-CA | Sara Jacobs | Aug 2, 2022 | |
| D-NC | Deborah K. Ross | Nov 3, 2022 | |
| D-NJ | Josh Gottheimer | Dec 21, 2022 |
Committees 1
Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.
| Chamber | Committee | What it did |
|---|---|---|
| House | Education and Workforce Committee | Referred Mar 18, 2021 |
Actions 2
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Mar 18, 2021Introduced in House
- Mar 18, 2021Referred to the House Committee on Education and Labor.
Research
What has been written about this bill: committee reports, cost estimates, the sponsor’s authority statement, printed hearings and the Congressional Research Service’s work.
Constitutional authority
The sponsor’s statement, as printed in the Congressional Record, vol. 167, no. 51, March 18, 2021, page H1582.
Printed hearings 1
Hearings whose printed record names this bill, newest first: hearings on it, and wider hearings where it came up.
| Number | Hearing | Committee | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Serial No. 117-6 | MEMBER DAY461 pages | Agriculture Committee | May 18, 2021 |
Related bills 2
Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.
| Bill | Title | Relationship | Latest action |
|---|---|---|---|
| S 853 | WIC Act of 2021 | Identical bill | Mar 18, 2021 |
| HR 3364 | WIC Act of 2023 | Reintroduced Bill | May 16, 2023 |
Titles 3
Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.
- Official Title as Introduced
- To amend the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 to increase the age of eligibility for children to receive benefits under the special supplemental nutrition program for women, infants, and children, and for other purposes.
- Short Title(s) as Introduced
- WIC Act of 2021
- Wise Investment in Children Act of 2021
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Agriculture and Food.
Text 1
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Mar 18, 2021Introduced in House
Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov; cost estimates are the Congressional Budget Office's, and the hearings are the printed hearings GovInfo publishes, which can appear months after the hearing.
