Marshall and Gillibrand Release Statement Following Launch of WIC Healthy Beginnings Act

(Washington, D.C., January 4, 2023) – U.S. Senators Roger Marshall, M.D. (R-KS) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) released the following statement on the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) official launch of their bipartisan infant formula legislation. The WIC Healthy Beginnings Act improves transparency and competition in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) programs. Following the launch, a senior USDA official penned a blog post highlighting the new resource materials and recognized the Senators for creating the idea. 

“We applaud the USDA for recognizing the value of our ideas and implementing our legislation through their regulatory process,” said the lawmakers. “This commonsense proposal will increase transparency and competition for state WIC agency infant formula programs. As we look to this Congress, we will continue to advance bipartisan initiatives that will modernize the WIC program so it better serves mothers and their children.”

The legislation is endorsed by the National WIC Association, the Infant Nutrition Council of America, the National Milk Producers Federation, and March of Dimes. U.S. Representatives Lucy McBath (D-GA), Lisa McClain (R-MI), Andy Levin (D-MI), and Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-IA) introduced companion legislation in April 2022. 

To learn more about the WIC Healthy Beginnings Act, click HERE.

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