JOHN YANG: With a possible shutdown looming, Congress is scrambling to find a way to fund the government beyond September 30.

Ali Rogin reports on one federal program patient facing potential cuts, WIC, Women, Infants and Children, which helps low income families get healthy foods.

ALI ROGIN: Last year, WIC serve more than 6 million people per month, including more than a third of the nation's infants and participation continues to rise.

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, WIC gave women and children between nine to $11 a month to purchase fruits and vegetables.

In 2021, Congress increased that amount and women now receive between $45 and $49 a month and children get $25.

But in their annual spending bill, House Republicans want to cut those cash benefits back close to pre COVID levels.

The left leaning Center on Budget and Policy Priorities estimates those cuts could affect one and a half million pregnant and postpartum women and three and a half million children.

With Congress unlikely to pass those spending bills by the end of the month, the White House is asking for $1.4 billion in emergency funds.

Now Nell Menefee-Libey, Public Policy for the National WIC Association, a nonprofit organization representing public health nutrition service providers and WIC beneficiaries.

Now, thank you so much for being here.

NELL MENEFEE-LIBEY, National WIC Association: Thanks for having me.

ALI ROGIN: First of all, for people who might not be familiar with the WIC program, where does it fit in in terms of the spectrum of food assistance programs in the United States?

NELL MENEFEE-LIBEY: Sure.

WIC is a public health nutrition program that's targeted to specific life stages.

So pregnancy and postpartum and then birth through the fifth birthday.

And it delivers really targeted nutrition that is meant to support healthy development during pregnancy, help get mom back to optimal health after delivery, and ensure that kiddos have the healthiest foods that they need for their optimal development during those really key early years.

ALI ROGIN: And one of the reasons why this program has grown so much since the pandemic began is simply because participation increased so much.

Why did participation get so much more robust during the pandemic?

NELL MENEFEE-LIBEY: Yeah, a couple of reasons.

The first is that there have been some really important modernizations and service delivery, new participants have been able to get certified and existing participants have been able to get recertified remotely on the program by phone or by video appointment where previously mom might have had to take time off from work, take kids out of daycare, or go into a clinic in person.

And that's time that often busy parents don't have.

ALI ROGIN: But as you pointed out to me, this is a request that was made by the National WIC Association back in 2017 so well before the COVID-19 pandemic?

NELL MENEFEE-LIBEY: Yes, correct.

WIC food package is based on us independent recommendations from a panel of nutrition scientists, the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine.

They recommended that mixed fruit and vegetable benefit be expanded in 2017.

So that's something that we've been asking for quite a few years.

And we were happy to see Congress deliver on and 2021.

ALI ROGIN: Now in terms of the debate happening in Congress right now, a lot of Republicans have seen reducing that fruit and vegetable credit as a way to, in their view course correct, from expansions of some programs that took place during the public health emergency.

Here's what one member of Congress Andy Harris had to say during the congressional debate over funding levels.

REP. ANDY HARRIS (R) Maryland: We must work to right size programs, especially since the pandemic is over.

And President Biden has ended the public health emergency last month.

And this is why we're returning the WIC cash value voucher benefits to a normal sustainable inflation adjusted funding level.

ALI ROGIN: What's your response to that?

NELL MENEFEE-LIBEY: The WIC benefit is pretty modest.

It's not intended to supply a family's entire grocery budget for the month.

And even at those inflated levels or adjusted up levels, the fruit and vegetable benefit only supplies half of what's recommended for consumption per month.

We have seen important payoffs in the nutrition outcomes as a result of those higher issuance levels.

We've seen a quarter cup increase in consumption of fruits and vegetables per day among WIC enrolled toddlers, you're a new mom, you know, how hard it is to get kiddos to eat their fruits and vegetables.

So that's a big deal.

I think that these are important gains in public health, it's a worst a worthwhile investment in our nation's children.

And I think the idea that these are our pandemic programs that need to be right size is overlooking that these are recommendations stemming from an independent panel that met in 2017 to talk about how to make the most of WIC's benefit.

ALI ROGIN: Now a lot of your job these days is spent talking to lawmakers telling them about this program, what are you hearing from them?

NELL MENEFEE-LIBEY: We are fortunate that WIC is a program that has enjoyed long standing bipartisan support in Congress.

There has been an agreement for nearly 30 years to provide the program with the resources necessary to serve every eligible individual who walks in the door and asks to receive WIC services.

But the proposals that are currently being considered by Congress do not provide resources necessary to serve the projected nearly 7 million participants who we expect will participate in the program in 2024.

ALI ROGIN: Now, if WIC funding does get cut in any way or not expanded to the levels that President Biden is now requesting, how is that going to affect the state agencies that administer these funds?

NELL MENEFEE-LIBEY: Yeah, unfortunately, state agencies would be in a position of having to turn away folks who would otherwise be eligible to receive WIC services.

The first participants that we would see fall off of the program would be non-breastfeeding, new moms in the middle of a national maternal health crisis.

And older children who are getting ready to start kindergarten, we want to make sure in the best possible position to be doing that.

WIC hasn't had to send families to wait lists since 1997.

And the gains in participation that we've seen in the last couple of years are really hard won, that is the result of good work being done on the state and local level, to keep more families engaged with the program.

And we don't want to see folks turn away from the program because we know that once they fall off, it's really hard to get them back.

Congress needs to sustain these investments so that WIC is reaching all of the families who who would benefit from its vital nutrition services ALI ROGIN: Nell Menefee-Libey with the National WIC Association.

Thank you so much for your time.

NELL MENEFEE-LIBEY: Thanks for having me, Ali.