II 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 2358 

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 SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 31, 2019 

Mr. CASEY (for himself and Ms. COLLINS) introduced the following bill; which 

was read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, 

and Forestry 

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 2019’’ or the ‘‘WIC Act of 2019’’. 


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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.—A 

4 State may elect to certify a par5 ticipant child who has had a fifth 

6 birthday but has not yet attained 

7 their sixth birthday, during the 

8 period that ends on the earlier 

9 of— 

10 ‘‘(AA) the sixth birth11 day of the child; and 

12 ‘‘(BB) the first date on 

13 which the child attends full 

14 day kindergarten. 

15 ‘‘(bb) REQUIREMENTS.— 

16 Each State that elects to certify 

17 a child under item (aa) shall— 

18 ‘‘(AA) ensure that the 

19 participant child receives re20 quired health and nutrition 

21 assessments; and 

22 ‘‘(BB) establish a sys23 tem to determine the first 

24 date on which a participant 


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1 child attends full day kin2 dergarten.’’. 

3 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 

4 1902(a)(53)(A) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 

5 1396a(a)(53)(A)) is amended by striking ‘‘below the age 

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

7 SEC. 3. CERTIFICATION OF INFANTS. 

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

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

10 amended by striking paragraph (5) and inserting the fol11 lowing: 

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

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

14 ‘‘(B) for purposes of subsection (d), a per15 son under 2 years of age.’’. 

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

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

18 is amended by adding at the end the following: 

19 ‘‘(iv) INFANTS.— 

20 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—A State may 

21 elect to certify an infant for a period 

22 of not more than 2 years. 

23 ‘‘(II) ASSESSMENTS.—In certi24 fying an infant under subclause (I), a 

25 State shall ensure that the infant reVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:30 Aug 08, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2358.IS S2358

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1 ceives required health and nutrition 

2 assessments.’’. 

3 SEC. 4. EXTENSION OF POSTPARTUM PERIOD. 

4 (a) BREASTFEEDING WOMEN.— 

5 (1) DEFINITION OF BREASTFEEDING WOMAN.— 

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

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

8 (1) and inserting the following: 

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

10 ‘breastfeeding woman’ means— 

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

12 postpartum and is breastfeeding the infant of 

13 the woman; and 

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

15 woman who is not more than 2 years 

16 postpartum and is breastfeeding the infant of 

17 the woman.’’. 

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

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

20 1786(d)(3)(A)(ii)) is amended by striking ‘‘1 year’’ 

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

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

23 (b) POSTPARTUM WOMEN.— 

24 (1) DEFINITION OF POSTPARTUM WOMAN.— 

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


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

2 (10) and inserting the following: 

3 ‘‘(10) POSTPARTUM WOMAN.—The term 

4 ‘postpartum woman’ means— 

5 ‘‘(A) a woman up to 6 months after termi6 nation of pregnancy; and 

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

8 woman up to 2 years after termination of preg9 nancy.’’. 

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

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

12 1786(d)(3)(A)) (as amended by section 3(b)) is 

13 amended by adding at the end the following: 

14 ‘‘(v) POSTPARTUM WOMEN.—A State 

15 may elect to certify a postpartum woman 

16 for a period of up to 2 years after the ter17 mination of pregnancy of the postpartum 

18 woman.’’. 

Æ 


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