96 HR 5757 IH: WIC for Kids Act
U.S. House of Representatives
2023-09-27
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I
118th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 5757
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
September 27, 2023
Mrs. Hayes (for herself, Ms. Adams, Mr. Bowman, Ms. Brown, Ms. Bush, Mr. Carbajal, Mr. Cárdenas, Mr. Carson, Mrs. Cherfilus-McCormick, Ms. Chu, Mr. Cohen, Ms. Crockett, Mr. Davis of Illinois, Ms. DeLauro, Mr. DeSaulnier, Ms. Barragán, Mr. Doggett, Mr. García of Illinois, Ms. Scanlon, Mr. Goldman of New York, Mr. Gomez, Mr. Grijalva, Mr. Jackson of Illinois, Ms. Jackson Lee, Ms. Jacobs, Mr. Johnson of Georgia, Ms. Kamlager-Dove, Ms. Kaptur, Mr. Keating, Mr. Larson of Connecticut, Mrs. McBath, Ms. Lee of California, Mr. McGarvey, Mr. McGovern, Ms. Moore of Wisconsin, Mr. Mullin, Mrs. Napolitano, Ms. Norton, Mr. Payne, Mr. Pocan, Ms. Salinas, Ms. Sewell, Mr. Takano, Mr. Thanedar, Ms. Titus, Ms. Tlaib, Ms. Tokuda, Mr. Torres of New York, Ms. Velázquez, Mrs. Watson Coleman, Ms. Williams of Georgia, Ms. Wilson of Florida, Ms. Dean of Pennsylvania, Mr. Horsford, Ms. Jayapal, Ms. Hoyle of Oregon, Mr. Courtney, and Mr. Himes) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce
A BILL
To amend the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 to extend certain certification periods for the special supplemental nutrition program for women, infants, and children, and for other purposes.
1.

Short title
This Act may be cited as the “WIC for Kids Act”.
2.

Extension of certain WIC certification periods
(a)

Expansion of adjunctive eligibility
Section 17(d)(2)(A) of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1786(d)(2)(A)) is amended—
(1)
in clause (ii)—
(A)
in subclause (I), by inserting “resides in a household (as such term is defined in section 3 of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2012)) that includes an individual who” before “receives”; and
(B)
in subclause (II), by striking “; or” and inserting a semicolon;
(2)
by amending clause (iii) to read as follows:
“(iii)
(I)
receives medical assistance under title XIX of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1396 et seq.) or child health assistance under title XXI of such Act (42 U.S.C. 1397aa et seq.); or
(II)
is a member of a family in which a pregnant woman, postpartum woman, infant, or child receives such assistance or is enrolled as described in subclause (I);”; and
(3)
by adding at the end the following:
“(iv)
is enrolled as a Head Start participant in a program authorized under the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9831 et seq.) or resides in a household in which one or more children is enrolled as a participant in such a Head Start program;
(v)
resides in a household that includes an individual who receives assistance under the food distribution program on Indian reservations established under section 4(b) of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2013(b)); or
(vi)
resides in a household that includes an individual who receives assistance from a nutrition assistance program funded by the consolidated block grants for Puerto Rico and the American Samoa established under section 19 of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2028) or funded by a block grant for the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands pursuant to section 601 of Public Law 96–597 (48 U.S.C. 1469d(c)).”.
(b)

Adjunct documentation
Section 17(d)(3)(E) of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1786(d)(3)(E)) is amended to read as follows:
“(E)

Adjunct documentation
In order to participate in the program under this section pursuant to clause (ii) through (vi) of paragraph (2)(A), not earlier than 90 days prior to the date on which the certification or recertification for participation in the program is made—
(i)
an individual shall provide documentation of receipt of assistance described in such clause; or
(ii)
a State agency shall use available documentation to show receipt of such assistance.”.
(c)

Certification within one household family
Section 17(d)(3)(A) of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1786)(d)(3)(A)) is amended—
(1)
in clause (i), by striking “clause (ii)” and inserting “clauses (ii) through (viii)”;
(2)
by inserting “or recertified” after “certified”; and
(3)
by adding at the end the following:
“(iv)

Certification within one household family
In order to align certification periods or recertification appointments, when a State or local agency certifies an individual based on income documentation under subparagraph (D) or adjunct documentation under subparagraph (E), a new certification period that otherwise meets the requirements of the program may be initiated for eligible family members of such individual.
(v)

Certification of infants
A State shall certify for participation, without further application, an infant born to a pregnant individual who is participating in the program pursuant to clause (iii) of paragraph (2)(A).
(vi)

Recertification
Before requesting new income documentation for purposes of recertifying an individual under the program, a State shall—
(I)
determine whether such individual is eligible for recertification under subparagraph (E); and
(II)
if such individual is so eligible—
- (aa)
recertify such individual; and
- (bb)
notify such individual of such recertification.”.
(d)

Extension of child certification periods
Section 17(d)(3)(A)(iii) of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1786(d)(3)(A)(iii)) is amended by striking “1 year” and inserting “2 years”.
(e)

Automatic eligibility for children in kinship families
Section 17(f)(1)(C)(ix) of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1786(f)(1)(C)(ix)) is amended by inserting “a kinship family,” after “under the care of”.