Scott Receives Leadership Award from National WIC Association
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congressman Bobby Scott (VA-03), the Chairman of the Committee on Education and Labor, received the Leadership Award from the National WIC Association at their 2022 national policy conference. The National WIC Association advocates and supports public health nutrition service provider agencies and the mothers, babies, and young children served by the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC).
"It is an honor to receive the National WIC Association's Leadership Award," said Congressman Scott. "For years, the National WIC Association has been an invaluable partner in helping over 6 million people—including over half of all infants born in the United States—access tailored nutrition counseling, healthy food prescriptions, breastfeeding support, and health screenings and referrals. Despite our work, we know that child hunger, diet-related illness, and inadequate access to care persist in too many of our communities, particularly amid the ongoing pandemic.
"I have been a long-time supporter of the WIC program," continued Congressman Scott. "While I served in the General Assembly, I wrote legislation that established the Virginia Task Force on Infant Mortality. That Task Force recommended enhanced funding for WIC to reduce low birth weight and infant deaths, as well as promoting brain growth during pregnancy and infancy. I am committed to advancing a comprehensive reauthorization of federal child nutrition programs – which have not been updated in more than a decade – to strengthen WIC and ensure that every child has access to the healthy food they need to succeed."
As Chairman of the Committee on Education and Labor, Congressman Scott ensured the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, signed into law in March 2020, provided families with the flexibility to access WIC food benefits and infant formula without the need to make unsafe visits to clinics, and Congressman Scott also ensured that the American Rescue Plan Act, signed into law in March 2021, included $490 million to more than triple the value of the WIC cash value benefits for fruits and vegetables for a period of four months, and $390 million for investments in modernizing and improving access to the WIC program.
This award comes after other recent awards and honors given to Congressman Scott:
- Honorary Doctorate Degree, College of William & Mary
- Regional Statesman Award, Hampton Roads Chamber
- Lifetime Achievement Award, L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs at Virginia Commonwealth University
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