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S 3842 119th Congress Senate Agriculture and Food

21st Century WIC Act of 2026

Introduced: February 11, 2026 Introduced by: Marshall, Roger Republican · Kansas See on congress.gov
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 Everywhere this bill has been 2 steps
Introduced
In committee
Reported out
Passed House
Passed Senate
To President
Became law
Feb 11, 2026
Introduced in Senate
Feb 11, 2026
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.
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 Plain-English summary Congressional Research Service

21st Century WIC Act of 2026

This bill permanently allows individuals to remotely certify their eligibility for, and receive benefits through, the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC).

Specifically, the bill requires that a state agency allow an individual seeking a WIC certification, recertification, or a nutritional risk evaluation to do so by phone or through video teleconference, in addition to the in-person option.

A state agency has 90 days to collect data for a nutritional risk evaluation for a remotely certified individual. Further, a state agency may consider an applicant who meets the income eligibility standards to be temporarily eligible on an interim basis to participate in the program and may certify the individual for immediate participation without waiting for a nutritional risk evaluation.

The bill also allows states to provide benefits on WIC electronic benefit transfer cards through mail or remote issuance instead of requiring participants to pick up or reload benefits in person at a WIC office.

Further, the Department of Agriculture must report to Congress about the use of remote technologies and other digital tools in the WIC program.

Currently, individuals are generally required to be physically present to certify their WIC eligibility and receive benefits, with exceptions. The Food and Nutrition Service has temporarily waived these requirements and allowed remote certification and benefits using authorities that were originally provided by laws that were enacted to address COVID-19.

What's happening now February 11, 2026

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

 Bill text 1 version

Source documents hosted by congress.gov.

 Committees of jurisdiction 1
 Lobbying activity 5

Registered lobbyists who named this bill in their disclosure filings. Source: federal Lobbying Disclosure Act filings.

 Cosponsors 1
All 1 Democratic 1
D
Gillibrand, Kirsten E.
New York · Feb 11, 2026
Cite this page click to expand
APA
U.S. Congress. (2026). S. 3842: 21st Century WIC Act of 2026. 119th Congress. Open America. https://openamerica.io/bill/119-S-3842/
MLA
"S. 3842: 21st Century WIC Act of 2026." 119th Congress, 2026, Open America, https://openamerica.io/bill/119-S-3842/.
Bluebook (legal)
S. 3842, 119th Cong. (2026), https://openamerica.io/bill/119-S-3842/.
Markdown link
[S. 3842: 21st Century WIC Act of 2026](https://openamerica.io/bill/119-S-3842/)
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