The effects of the government shutdown are causing many negative issues for the American public with the closing of National Parks and many government workers on furlough however; more devastating effects could be coming for low-income mothers and their children. Difficulties feeding their children in this unstable economy will only grow worse with the loss of one of the key supplemental programs. According to Forbes, the government shut down funding of the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children, known as WIC.
Today, upon attempting to visit the USDA website, it was found to be shutdown due to the lapse in government funding. It contained a link to a sorry-gram from the President of the United States. This, unfortunately, will be no consolation to the more than 8.9 million women and children who currently live below the poverty line and rely on supplemental programs such as WIC.
In Texas
The good news is, many states are currently able to continue funding their programs for the time being, including Texas. Texas Department of State Health Services spokeswoman Christine Mann said, ‘There won’t be any immediate impact on WIC services in the state thanks to a surplus of federal funds the division has on hand, although other states may not fare as well.’ Mann also said if there is no resolution to the problems in Washington in the next few weeks however; there could be issues with fully funding the program.
Thanks to the lack of frivolity in our State Government, the City of Abilene will have the ability to continue to provide for our women and children for a while longer as our Federal Government continues to work out their differences. One of the many reasons Abilenians are proud to call themselves Texans.
