VIDEO: Heinrich Addresses 50th Annual New Mexico Statewide WIC Conference

ALBUQUERQUE - Today, U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Chairman of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies, delivered video remarks to the attendees of the 50th Annual New Mexico Statewide WIC Conference, hosted in Albuquerque.

VIDEO: U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich addresses the New Mexico Statewide WIC Conference, May 7, 2024.

"I serve as the Chairman of the Appropriations Subcommittee that oversees funding for USDA Nutrition programs like WIC, SNAP, and the School Lunch Program. This year, it proved to be a real fight with House Republicans to ensure we fully funded WIC and similarly vital nutrition programs. Right at a time when working families were struggling to make ends meet, my Republican colleagues tried to pass ruthless funding cuts. And they sought to impose unnecessary red tape on working families. We went through months of tense negotiations. But I stood firm," said Heinrich.

"In March, we passed a bill that fully funded WIC. This was a major win for working families across the country," Heinrich continued. "It was a major win for America's babies and toddlers. And it was a major win for our shared values that put working families first. We ensured that none of the 7 million women and children who depend on WIC would be denied assistance."

Background:

In March, as part of the FY24 Agriculture Appropriations bill that he authored and led bipartisan negotiations on, Heinrich secured full funding for the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children-better known as WIC-which serves nearly 7 million women and children nationwide.

Nutrition Provisions in the FY24 Agriculture Appropriations Bill:

The bill delivers critical funding to ensure women, infants, and children can get the nutrition they need, and it protects vital nutrition assistance programs for families across the country with tight budgets.

WIC: The bill fully funds the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC)-which serves nearly 7 million women and kids nationwide-by providing $7.03 billion for the program, a $1.03 billion increase over fiscal year 2023 that meets the administration's updated request. This increase will ensure that all eligible young families can continue to rely on the essential nutrition assistance and support provided by WIC. The bill also continues full funding for additional fruit and vegetable benefits.

SNAP: The bill fully funds the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) to serve an estimated 42 million people per month-and does not include any new restrictions on eligibility.

Child Nutrition: The bill fully funds Child Nutrition Programs -like the School Lunch program, school breakfast program, and summer EBT program-to ensure schools can continue to serve healthy meals. In 2024, this funding will help serve an estimated 5 billion lunches and 2.6 billion breakfasts to kids across the country.

Heinrich's Leadership on Nutrition Programs and Childhood Hunger:

In addition to securing full funding for nutrition programs in the Agriculture Appropriations Bill, Heinrich recently cosponsored the COLAs Don't Count Act, legislation to exempt annual cost-of-living adjustments (COLA) from impacting the benefits of those who utilize the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) for food assistance. This would help ensure participants of SNAP are not losing benefits to the added costs of inflation and allow families to keep food on the table.

In April, Heinrich joined U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-Pa.) to introduce the Infant Formula Made in America Act, which creates a new tax credit program to support new or expanding small American infant formula producers.

Last October, Heinrich joined U.S. Senators John Fetterman (D-Pa.), and Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.) to introduce the Healthy Meals Help Kids Learn Act, legislation to make it easier for students to access quality, nutritious school meals. The bill permanently increases the federal reimbursement level for school meals to help address funding challenges, enhance menus, and increase access to locally grown food.

Heinrich's full remarks for the New Mexico Statewide WIC Conference are below:

Thank you for inviting me to join you at this year's 50th Anniversary WIC Conference.

It's the hard work and dedication of all of you here that helps New Mexico's working families put food on the table.

And it's an honor to continue your work and lift up our shared values in Washington, D.C.

I serve as the Chairman of the Appropriations Subcommittee that oversees funding for USDA Nutrition programs like WIC, SNAP, and the School Lunch Program.

My job as Chairman involves balancing a lot of competing priorities.

We have to make tough decisions about how to responsibly spend taxpayer dollars.

As I do that work, it's crystal clear to me:

There are no programs more important than the ones that feed babies and toddlers.

Unfortunately, not everyone in Washington agrees.

This year, it proved to be a real fight with House Republicans to ensure we fully funded WIC and similarly vital nutrition programs.

Right at a time when working families were struggling to make ends meet, my Republican counterparts tried to pass ruthless funding cuts.

And they sought to impose unnecessary red tape on working families.

We went through months of tense negotiations.

But I stood firm.

And in March, we passed a bill that fully funded WIC.

This was a major win for working families across the country.

It was a major win for America's babies and toddlers.

And it was a major win for our shared values.

Values that put working families first.

We ensured that none of the 7 million women and children who depend on WIC would be denied assistance.

We also fully funded SNAP to help 42 million Americans put food on the table each month.

And we blocked House Republicans' attempts to impose new and ineffective restrictions on eligibility for Americans who count on SNAP.

Because what working families need right now is a government that will fight for them.

Not one that will make their lives more difficult.

We also fully funded Child Nutrition Programs.

That includes the School Lunch program, the school breakfast program, and the Summer EBT program.

Our kids should be able to focus on learning, on growing, on making new friends.

Not worrying about when they will eat their next meal.

New Mexico sent a strong message to the rest of our nation when we passed universal school meals.

I am fighting for this effort at the national level.

I've joined Senators John Fetterman and Raphael Warnock to introduce the Healthy Meals Help Kids Learn Act.

Our legislation would permanently increase the federal reimbursement level for school meals.

That will help schools address funding challenges, enhance their menus, and increase access to healthy and locally grown food.

But I won't stop there in fighting for working families.

If a parent can't find accessible and affordable child care, they will have a tougher time finding a job or going back to school to learn new skills.

If a kid's parents aren't able to find stable housing and work, they are going to have a much harder time doing their homework and focusing in school.

These are all interconnected challenges.

We need to invest in proven solutions that lower costs and level the playing field for working families.

Because when we invest in our children, in their families, and in their schools, we invest in our future.

Thank you again to each of you who are working day and night to build a stronger foundation for working families all across New Mexico.

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