WASHINGTON – Today, with three days remaining until the government funding deadline, U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine issued the following statement on the need to fund the government and protect nearly seven million women and children, including 127,124 in Virginia, who rely on the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC):

“A government shutdown not only impacts those near Washington, D.C. It has real, tangible consequences for millions of people across Virginia and America and would be devastating for our economy. Those in Congress who are suggesting otherwise are wrong. In Virginia, 127,124 women and children are at risk of not receiving vital nutrition assistance during a government shutdown. We can and should prevent this from happening by passing a bipartisan bill to fund the government as soon as possible.”

WIC provides federal grants to safeguard the health of low-income women, infants, and children up to age 5 who are at nutrition risk by providing nutritious foods to supplement diets, information on healthy eating, and referrals to health care. States that receive federal grants on a monthly basis for programs like WIC, Head Start, and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) are at risk of not being awarded funding if the government shutdown lasts through the first of the next month.

###