Public health, prevention, and proposed cuts to food and nutrition programs.

Falling Through the Cracks in the Deficit Debate on The Huffington Post

On proposed cuts to the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children:

WIC is a short-term preventative public health nutrition program designed to influence lifetime nutrition and health behaviors in a targeted, high-risk population. WIC-approved foods are selected for their nutritional value to supplement the nutrients found lacking in the diets of low-income populations. As one WIC participant in Scott County, IA stated, WIC's nutrition education has, "laid the foundation for healthy eating habits for years to come."

With the nation's obesity rates continuing to rise, and two-thirds of adults and nearly one-third of children and teens currently obese or overweight and at increased risk for over 20 major diseases, including type 2 diabetes and heart disease, according to the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, now is not the time for Congress to consider funding cuts to WIC.

Should Congress fail to successfully meet its agreed upon deficit reduction target of $1.2 trillion, WIC could be hit with dramatic funding cuts resulting in more than 700,000 vulnerable mothers and young children being cut off from critical WIC nutrition services, depriving young children the opportunity of a healthy start on life, taking away purchasing power in local economies, and increasing the nation's long-term healthcare costs. Moreover, deficit reduction targets for future years could see further dramatic cuts to WIC.

A serious attempt to grapple with deficit reduction begins with sound investments in the health and well-being of our nation’s families and communities, not with slashing vital food and nutrition programs, like WIC, that contribute to long-term health savings, workforce productivity, the nation’s competitiveness in a global economy, and national security.