S. 853 117th Congress Senate

WIC Act of 2021

Official title: A bill to amend the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 to increase the age of eligibility for children to receive benefits under the special supplemental nutrition pr… Show full official titleShow less

Official title: A bill 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.

Introduced: May 27, 2021 See on congress.gov

Agriculture and Food Child healthFood assistance and reliefNutrition and dietPoverty and welfare assistance

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State and local government operationsWomen's health

Everywhere this bill has been 2 steps

Introduced

In committee

Reported out

Passed House

Passed Senate

To President

Became law

Mar 18, 2021

Read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.

Mar 18, 2021

Introduced in Senate

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Latest action March 18, 2021

Read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.

Plain-English summary Congressional Research Service

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.

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