House Appropriations Committee Chairman Rep. Hal Rogers (R-Ky.) spoke on Friday on the House floor in favor of the Nutrition Assistance for Low-Income Women and Children Act.
The bill, H.J.Res. 75, would allow appropriations for the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children program, or WIC, until Dec. 15, 2013. The House passed the appropriation with a vote of 244 to 164 on Friday.
“This bill ensures that the nearly 8.7 million women, children and infants who rely on the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children will continue to receive critical nutrition assistance without interruption,” Rogers said.
Rogers said the bill’s goal is to move closer to ending the government shutdown. While he does not support the “piecemeal funding approach,” he said the small steps made in funding individual programs do incrementally move the government toward a resolution.
“As we work this out, we must ensure that our most vulnerable citizens don’t fall victim to politics,” Rogers said. “This bill will take care of those who count on WIC to meet their nutritional needs.
The bill currently awaits Senate approval.
“This would be the seventh bill we’ve sent to (the Senate) to help reopen the federal government,” Rogers said. “Altogether, these bills provide nearly one-third of the discretionary funding needed to operate the federal government. We have essentially passed one-third of a clean continuing resolution – which the Senate keeps demanding from us. And yet, they won’t vote on these bills that would be part of that clean CR. The math doesn’t add up.”