I 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2011 

To amend the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 to increase the age of eligibility 

for children to receive benefits under the special supplemental nutrition 

program for women, infants, and children, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 18, 2021 

Ms. DELAURO (for herself, Ms. SA ́NCHEZ, Miss GONZA ́LEZ-COLO ́N, Ms. 

SCHRIER, and Mr. YOUNG) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor 

A BILL 

To amend the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 to increase the 

age of eligibility for children to receive benefits under 

the special supplemental nutrition program for women, 

infants, and children, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Wise Investment in 

5 Children Act of 2021’’ or the ‘‘WIC Act of 2021’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. AGE OF ELIGIBILITY FOR CHILDREN UNDER THE 

2 SPECIAL SUPPLEMENTAL NUTRITION PRO3 GRAM. 

4 (a) DEFINITION OF CHILD.—Section 17 of the Child 

5 Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1786) is amended— 

6 (1) in subsection (b), by striking paragraph (2) 

7 and inserting the following: 

8 ‘‘(2) CHILD.—The term ‘child’ means— 

9 ‘‘(A) a person who has attained their first 

10 birthday but has not yet attained their fifth 

11 birthday; and 

12 ‘‘(B) for purposes of subsection 

13 (d)(3)(A)(iii)(II), a person who has attained 

14 their first birthday but has not yet attained 

15 their sixth birthday.’’; 

16 (2) in subsection (e)(4)(A), by striking ‘‘up to 

17 age 5’’; and 

18 (3) in subsection (f)(7)(D)(i), by striking 

19 ‘‘under the age of 5’’. 

20 (b) CERTIFICATION.—Section 17(d)(3)(A)(iii) of the 

21 Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 

22 1786(d)(3)(A)(iii)) is amended— 

23 (1) by striking ‘‘A State’’ and inserting the fol24 lowing: 

25 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—A State’’; 

26 and 


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1 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

2 ‘‘(II) 5-YEAR-OLD CHILDREN.— 

3 ‘‘(aa) IN GENERAL.—Sub4 ject to a waiver under clause (vi), 

5 beginning not later than October 

6 1, 2026, a State shall certify a 

7 participant child who has had a 

8 fifth birthday but has not yet at9 tained their sixth birthday, dur10 ing the period that ends on the 

11 earlier of— 

12 ‘‘(AA) the sixth birth13 day of the child; and 

14 ‘‘(BB) the first date on 

15 which the child attends full 

16 day kindergarten. 

17 ‘‘(bb) REQUIREMENTS.— 

18 Each State that certifies a child 

19 under item (aa) shall— 

20 ‘‘(AA) ensure that the 

21 participant child receives re22 quired health and nutrition 

23 assessments; and 

24 ‘‘(BB) establish a sys25 tem to determine the first 


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1 date on which a participant 

2 child attends full day kin3 dergarten.’’. 

4 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 

5 1902(a)(53)(A) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 

6 1396a(a)(53)(A)) is amended by striking ‘‘below the age 

7 of 5’’ and inserting ‘‘(as defined in that section)’’. 

8 SEC. 3. CERTIFICATION OF INFANTS. 

9 (a) DEFINITION OF INFANT.—Section 17(b) of the 

10 Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1786(b)) is 

11 amended by striking paragraph (5) and inserting the fol12 lowing: 

13 ‘‘(5) INFANT.—The term ‘infant’ means— 

14 ‘‘(A) a person under 1 year of age; and 

15 ‘‘(B) for purposes of subsection (d), a per16 son under 2 years of age.’’. 

17 (b) CERTIFICATION.—Section 17(d)(3)(A) of the 

18 Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1786(d)(3)(A)) 

19 is amended by adding at the end the following: 

20 ‘‘(iv) INFANTS.— 

21 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—Subject to a 

22 waiver under clause (vi), beginning 

23 not later than October 1, 2026, a 

24 State shall certify an infant for a pe25 riod of not more than 2 years. 


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1 ‘‘(II) ASSESSMENTS.—In certi2 fying an infant under subclause (I), a 

3 State shall ensure that the infant re4 ceives required health and nutrition 

5 assessments.’’. 

6 SEC. 4. EXTENSION OF POSTPARTUM PERIOD. 

7 (a) BREASTFEEDING WOMEN.— 

8 (1) DEFINITION OF BREASTFEEDING WOMAN.— 

9 Section 17(b) of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 

10 U.S.C. 1786(b)) is amended by striking paragraph 

11 (1) and inserting the following: 

12 ‘‘(1) BREASTFEEDING WOMAN.—The term 

13 ‘breastfeeding woman’ means— 

14 ‘‘(A) a woman who is not more than 1 year 

15 postpartum and is breastfeeding the infant of 

16 the woman; and 

17 ‘‘(B) for purposes of subsection (d), a 

18 woman who is not more than 2 years 

19 postpartum and is breastfeeding the infant of 

20 the woman.’’. 

21 (2) CERTIFICATION.—Section 17(d)(3)(A)(ii) of 

22 the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 

23 1786(d)(3)(A)(ii)) is amended by striking ‘‘1 year’’ 

24 and all that follows through ‘‘earlier’’ and inserting 

25 ‘‘not more than 2 years postpartum’’. 


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1 (b) POSTPARTUM WOMEN.— 

2 (1) DEFINITION OF POSTPARTUM WOMAN.— 

3 Section 17(b) of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 

4 U.S.C. 1786(b)) is amended by striking paragraph 

5 (10) and inserting the following: 

6 ‘‘(10) POSTPARTUM WOMAN.—The term 

7 ‘postpartum woman’ means— 

8 ‘‘(A) a woman up to 6 months after termi9 nation of pregnancy; and 

10 ‘‘(B) for purposes of subsection (d), a 

11 woman up to 2 years after termination of preg12 nancy.’’. 

13 (2) CERTIFICATION.—Section 17(d)(3)(A) of 

14 the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 

15 1786(d)(3)(A)) (as amended by section 3(b)) is 

16 amended by adding at the end the following: 

17 ‘‘(v) POSTPARTUM WOMEN.—Subject to a waiver 

18 under clause (vi), beginning not later than October 1, 

19 2026, a State shall certify a postpartum woman for a pe20 riod of up to 2 years after the termination of pregnancy 

21 of the postpartum woman.’’. 

22 SEC. 5. WAIVER FOR CERTIFICATION. 

23 Section 17(d)(3)(A) of the Child Nutrition Act of 

24 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1786(d)(3)(A)) (as amended by section 

25 4(b)(2)) is amended— 


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1 (1) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘clause (ii)’’ and 

2 inserting ‘‘this subparagraph’’; and 

3 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

4 ‘‘(vi) WAIVER.— 

5 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—The Sec6 retary may grant a waiver to a State 

7 agency, on request, that waives the 

8 certification deadline requirement de9 scribed in clause (iii), (iv), or (v). 

10 ‘‘(II) SPECIFIC DATE.—A State 

11 agency requesting a waiver under sub12 clause (I) shall specify a date by 

13 which the State agency anticipates 

14 that it will implement the certification 

15 requirement under clause (iii), (iv), or 

16 (v) for which it seeks a waiver. 

17 ‘‘(III) ELIGIBILITY FOR WAIV18 ER.—To be eligible for a waiver under 

19 subclause (I), a State agency shall 

20 demonstrate to the satisfaction of the 

21 Secretary 1 or more of the following: 

22 ‘‘(aa) There are unusual 

23 technological barriers to imple24 mentation. 


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1 ‘‘(bb) Operational costs are 

2 not affordable within the nutri3 tion services and administration 

4 grant of the State agency. 

5 ‘‘(cc) It is in the best inter6 est of the program for the Sec7 retary to grant the waiver.’’. 

Æ 


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