Sponsors (88)
The bill protects continuity of WIC benefits for vulnerable families by reimbursing states that front funds during shutdowns, but it increases federal costs and can create unequal access across states and perverse incentives for how shutdown funding is handled.
Low-income pregnant women, infants, and children will be less likely to experience interruptions in WIC benefits during federal shutdowns because states can be reimbursed for costs they fronted to keep WIC running.
State governments that fronted their own funds to sustain WIC during a lapse will be reimbursed after the lapse ends, reducing their financial risk and making them less likely to cut services during future shutdowns.
Low-income families in states that could not or did not front funds would still face interruptions in benefits, producing unequal access to uninterrupted WIC services across states.
Federal taxpayers could face additional costs because the federal government would reimburse states for WIC continuity funding after shutdowns.
The reimbursement policy could incentivize some states to rely on temporary state funding during shutdowns rather than pushing for timely federal appropriations, shifting short-term fiscal burdens to states and potentially weakening incentives for prompt federal funding action.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Requires federal repayment to states for State funds used to keep WIC operating during any lapse in discretionary appropriations, covering amounts spent to maintain participation.
Requires the federal government to repay State agencies for any State funds those agencies spent to keep the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) operating during a lapse in discretionary appropriations. Reimbursement eligibility applies after the lapse in appropriations ends and covers State funds used to maintain WIC participation. The provision is narrowly focused on reimbursing state-administered WIC operations and does not create new program rules for WIC benefits; it changes who bears the cost when federal appropriations temporarily lapse.
Introduced October 8, 2025 by Gabe Amo · Last progress October 8, 2025