1. United States
2. Texas
3. Letter

I am writing to ask you to oppose the House-passed Fiscal Year 2027 Agriculture Appropriations Act (H.R. 1), which includes cuts to WIC fruit and vegetable benefits for pregnant and breastfeeding women, infants, and young children. There has been increasing public discussion from elected officials about improving health through better nutrition, prevention, breastfeeding support, and reducing reliance on medication. There is some truth to those ideas. Nutrition does matter, and prevention does improve health outcomes. But that message only holds if policy actually supports it. We cannot claim that Americans should rely more on healthy food and prevention while simultaneously reducing access to the very foods that make those goals possible for low-income pregnant and postpartum women and children. Likewise, we should not be reducing access to medical care while promoting nutrition as a substitute for it. Both are necessary. These are not competing ideas in real life, especially for families who are already struggling. If healthier eating is truly part of the solution to our nation’s health problems, then WIC nutrition benefits—particularly the fruit and vegetable benefit—should be strengthened, not reduced. Cutting these benefits undermines the stated goal of improving public health. Pregnancy, breastfeeding, infancy, and early childhood are precisely the stages where nutrition has the greatest long-term impact on health. If we are serious about improving outcomes and lowering future healthcare costs, then policy must reflect that seriousness. Otherwise, the message becomes: improve your health—but with fewer tools to do it. Please oppose H.R. 1 and any provisions that reduce WIC nutrition benefits. Thank you for your time and consideration.