“Hungry babies. New moms without breastfeeding support and without the assistance they need to afford formula. Toddlers going without fresh, nutritious produce because their families can’t afford it. All that will be commonplace if Congress doesn’t provide emergency funds for the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) in the government funding package it must pass in the next week to avert a painful, unnecessary government shutdown.

“America’s moms are demanding that Republicans get on board with emergency WIC funding and also with at least $16 billion in child care stabilization funds, to keep our country’s child care crisis from getting even worse. Right now, millions of our youngest children are at risk of having their child care centers shut down, and their parents – mostly moms – are at risk of being forced to leave the workforce to care for them. When that happens, families lose the paychecks they need to make ends meet, businesses lose workers they rely on, and our economy suffers terribly.

“Moms want Congress to keep the federal government funded and address the pressing needs of our families, businesses, and our economy. We want Congress to stabilize the child care industry and provide emergency WIC funds adequate to ensure this vital nutrition assistance program can serve all pregnant women, postpartum moms, babies, and toddlers. And the Continuing Resolution Congress passes next week should be free of Republican ‘poison pills’ that moms oppose, including anti-abortion, anti-LGBTQIA+, anti-IRS, anti-immigrant, and anti-women riders. In particular, moms oppose cruel, ineffective changes to our immigration and asylum system and instead urge Congress to advance bipartisan measures that provide resources that: improve asylum processing; reduce backlogs and work permit waiting times; and resource states, localities and community shelter and support services as well as access to legal counsel. It’s time for both parties in Congress to put partisanship aside and do what’s best for America’s families.”