Contact your US Representative to support funding for WIC

From Michael Petit, President
Every Child Matters Education Fund 

The House seeks to cut $832 million from the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), a program that provides food assistance to low-income mothers and children. The Center for Budget and Policy Priorities estimates that the reduction could result in as many as 350,000 people being turned away. 

"Governing is about choices. It is clear where the House majority’s priorities lie — and it is not with those of the American people," said Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.), a strong WIC advocate, in a statement. "These cuts are unconscionable and will not only hurt families trying to survive, but also hurt our economy."

The Every Child Matters Education Fund opposes these wrong-headed cuts. They harm the children who need programs like these the most. Poor nutrition early will lead to greater problems down the road. And these cuts will do little to address the deficit or long-term debt. They are simply ideological assaults on people served by government, and have little to do with what is good policy and what is not.

Please click here to contact your member of Congress and tell them to oppose the House Agricultural Appropriation if it contains cuts to the Women, Infants, and Children program.

To learn about other cuts contained in the bill, click here. 

Sample email text for your message:

I urge you to oppose the House Agricultural Appropriation if it contains cuts to the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) program. I am an infant-family professional and I want to be sure that you are aware of the critical importance of nutrition during pregnancy and infancy. Years of research confirms that the vast majority of brain development occurs in pregnancy and in the first years of life. "Children who are malnourished–not just fussy eaters but truly deprived of adequate calories and protein in their diet–throughout this period do not adequately grow, either physically or mentally. Their brains are smaller than normal, because of reduced dendritic growth, reduced myelination, and the production of fewer glia (supporting cells in the brain which continue to form after birth and are responsible for producing myelin). Inadequate brain growth explains why children who were malnourished as fetuses and infants suffer often lasting behavioral and cognitive deficits, including slower language and fine motor development, lower IQ, and poorer school performance." http://main.zerotothree.org/site/PageServer?pagename=ter_key_brainFAQ#nutrition Please invest in Michigan’s future by ensuring that adequate nutrition is available to pregnant women and infants by supporting full funding for WIC.