Sponsors (28)
This bill centralizes and funds development of evidence-based, person-centered nutrition and infant-care resources for people affected by prenatal substance exposure—improving care access and reducing stigma—while imposing modest federal cost and some additional implementation and clinical guidance burden on state and provider staff.
Parents and infants affected by prenatal substance exposure or neonatal abstinence will get access to training and resources to support infant nutrition and care.
Pregnant and postpartum people with substance use disorder will receive evidence-based nutrition education tailored to pregnancy and lactation.
State WIC agencies will have centralized access to vetted materials via an online clearinghouse, making implementation more consistent and easier across states.
State WIC agencies and local providers may need to adapt local materials and trainings to align with clearinghouse content, creating extra implementation work for staff.
Using broader vocabulary like 'illicit or other harmful substances' could broaden the scope of materials and require additional clinical guidance, increasing complexity for program staff.
The $1,000,000 appropriation increases federal spending and could have opportunity costs for other programs or priorities.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Updates WIC language to use person-centered "substance use disorder," directs HHS to create nutrition education/outreach and an online clearinghouse, and authorizes $1M for FY2026.
Makes modest changes to the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) by replacing stigmatizing language about "drug/substance abuse" with person-centered "substance use disorder" wording, broadening some terms (e.g., "drugs" → "illicit or other harmful substances"), and modernizing numeric style. Directs HHS to develop and share evidence-based nutrition education and outreach materials for WIC-eligible people affected by substance use disorder, create an online clearinghouse of these materials for State WIC agencies, and authorizes $1,000,000 for fiscal year 2026 (available until expended) to implement that work. Also includes technical adjustments to renumber existing WIC subsections and updates two internal cross-references; it does not create new eligibility rules, deadlines for participants, or broad program restructures.
Introduced June 4, 2025 by Eugene Simon Vindman · Last progress June 4, 2025