Zoe Neuberger
@zoeneuberger.bsky.social
Believer that public policy can make the world a better place. Views are my own and do not necessarily reflect those of my employer, the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
For 50 years #WIC has been improving the health & development of new & expecting parents & young children by providing nutritious foods & vital services. It’s an example of government at its best. We compiled research on WIC’s effectiveness. Key findings↓ www.cbpp.org/wicworks
WIC Works: A Cost-Effective Investment in Improving Low-Income Families’ Nutrition and Health
Sound investments that reduce early childhood adversity can improve physical and mental health for a lifetime.[2] Extensive research finds that the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women,...
www.cbpp.org
January 26, 2026 at 6:47 PM
For 50 years #WIC has been improving the health & development of new & expecting parents & young children by providing nutritious foods & vital services. It’s an example of government at its best. We compiled research on WIC’s effectiveness. Key findings↓ www.cbpp.org/wicworks
Reposted by Zoe Neuberger
In the wake of another horrific shooting death in MN by federal immigration officers -on top of wrongful detentions, violence, & fear there & across the country- it is appropriate for the Senate to use the budget process to push for critical protections for people & communities.
January 25, 2026 at 3:52 PM
In the wake of another horrific shooting death in MN by federal immigration officers -on top of wrongful detentions, violence, & fear there & across the country- it is appropriate for the Senate to use the budget process to push for critical protections for people & communities.
Well said. Setting rules, establishing guardrails, and conducting oversight are important components of the annual budget process, and critical to our democracy.
Senators have the responsibility to uphold and defend the Constitution. Using the annual budget process when necessary to protect the constitutional rights and safety of all people and communities should be a requirement of the job.
In the wake of another horrific shooting death in MN by federal immigration officers -on top of wrongful detentions, violence, & fear there & across the country- it is appropriate for the Senate to use the budget process to push for critical protections for people & communities.
January 26, 2026 at 3:25 PM
Well said. Setting rules, establishing guardrails, and conducting oversight are important components of the annual budget process, and critical to our democracy.
Reposted by Zoe Neuberger
Undertaking a sweeping investigation of almost all federal funding to 14 states & D.C. – all but one led by a Democrat – is a harmful & shameful escalation of the Admin’s corrupt politicization of basic governance & suggests funding freezes may be coming. www.cnn.com/2026/01/22/p...
Trump administration orders review of federal funding in more than a dozen Democratic states | CNN Politics
The Trump administration has ordered a review of federal funding sent to more than a dozen Democratic-led states, according to multiple sources familiar with the matter.
www.cnn.com
January 22, 2026 at 7:46 PM
Undertaking a sweeping investigation of almost all federal funding to 14 states & D.C. – all but one led by a Democrat – is a harmful & shameful escalation of the Admin’s corrupt politicization of basic governance & suggests funding freezes may be coming. www.cnn.com/2026/01/22/p...
Reposted by Zoe Neuberger
Update: USDA revised their #SNAP contingency fund plan to provide households with a larger share of their November benefits. This is an important but inadequate step. Families need their full benefits to afford groceries & the Administration has the authority to provide them.
New data: CBPP analyzed USDA’s contingency fund spending plan & found it is only going to release 2/3 of the funding they committed to in court filings, cutting families’ SNAP benefits far more than necessary, violating USDA’s own regulations & shortchanging millions of families.
November 6, 2025 at 8:03 PM
Update: USDA revised their #SNAP contingency fund plan to provide households with a larger share of their November benefits. This is an important but inadequate step. Families need their full benefits to afford groceries & the Administration has the authority to provide them.
USDA is cutting SNAP benefits far more than necessary. #WIC benefits are still flowing, but WIC is a supplemental program. WIC participants who rely on SNAP for basic groceries & to feed other family members are likely to struggle to get enough to eat. Details⬇️
New data: CBPP analyzed USDA’s contingency fund spending plan & found it is only going to release 2/3 of the funding they committed to in court filings, cutting families’ SNAP benefits far more than necessary, violating USDA’s own regulations & shortchanging millions of families.
November 5, 2025 at 5:09 PM
USDA is cutting SNAP benefits far more than necessary. #WIC benefits are still flowing, but WIC is a supplemental program. WIC participants who rely on SNAP for basic groceries & to feed other family members are likely to struggle to get enough to eat. Details⬇️
As @TyJonesCox explains, millions of children are paying the price for the Administration’s failure to follow the law, do basic planning & use all available options to get full November #SNAP benefits out, but it's not too late to get full benefits to all participants.
It is a relief that the Administration is finally agreeing to do the bare minimum and follow the law by using the #SNAP contingency reserve to partially fund November SNAP benefits & nutrition assistance in Puerto Rico & American Samoa.
November 4, 2025 at 12:12 AM
As @TyJonesCox explains, millions of children are paying the price for the Administration’s failure to follow the law, do basic planning & use all available options to get full November #SNAP benefits out, but it's not too late to get full benefits to all participants.
The Administration should take all available legal steps to keep #SNAP and #WIC benefits flowing and services uninterrupted during the shutdown.
The Administration is legally required to use contingency reserves to fund November benefits for the 1 in 8 Americans who need #SNAP to afford groceries, despite USDA Sec. Rollins’ claim that the Administration is unable to do so. My statement: www.cbpp.org/press/statem...
Trump Administration Is Legally Required to Provide SNAP in Shutdown, Contrary to Its Claims
Secretary Rollins’ claim that the Trump Administration is unable to deliver November SNAP benefits during a shutdown is unequivocally false. The Administration is legally required to use contingency r...
www.cbpp.org
October 23, 2025 at 7:25 PM
Apparently House Speaker Johnson described #WIC as having shut down today. That’s not true. USDA has made clear that WIC has some federal funding to stay open for now & states can keep it open when that runs out. (I expect that will be in about 2 weeks, depending on the state.)
Bottom line for #WIC under the shutdown: WIC should continue operating uninterrupted for about 2 weeks (varying by state) & states should use their own funds to keep it open beyond that so babies, young children & new & expecting parents don’t miss out on critical benefits.
October 1, 2025 at 8:07 PM
Apparently House Speaker Johnson described #WIC as having shut down today. That’s not true. USDA has made clear that WIC has some federal funding to stay open for now & states can keep it open when that runs out. (I expect that will be in about 2 weeks, depending on the state.)
Reposted by Zoe Neuberger
Bottom line for #WIC under the shutdown: WIC should continue operating uninterrupted for about 2 weeks (varying by state) & states should use their own funds to keep it open beyond that so babies, young children & new & expecting parents don’t miss out on critical benefits.
October 1, 2025 at 6:47 PM
Bottom line for #WIC under the shutdown: WIC should continue operating uninterrupted for about 2 weeks (varying by state) & states should use their own funds to keep it open beyond that so babies, young children & new & expecting parents don’t miss out on critical benefits.
Bottom line for #WIC under the shutdown: WIC should continue operating uninterrupted for about 2 weeks (varying by state) & states should use their own funds to keep it open beyond that so babies, young children & new & expecting parents don’t miss out on critical benefits.
October 1, 2025 at 6:47 PM
Bottom line for #WIC under the shutdown: WIC should continue operating uninterrupted for about 2 weeks (varying by state) & states should use their own funds to keep it open beyond that so babies, young children & new & expecting parents don’t miss out on critical benefits.
USDA’s shutdown plan says that #WIC “shall continue operations during a lapse in appropriations, subject to the availability of funding.”
www.usda.gov/sites/defaul...
www.usda.gov/sites/defaul...
www.usda.gov
September 30, 2025 at 10:48 PM
USDA’s shutdown plan says that #WIC “shall continue operations during a lapse in appropriations, subject to the availability of funding.”
www.usda.gov/sites/defaul...
www.usda.gov/sites/defaul...
NEW: Despite White House statements implying that #WIC benefits for low-income families would be immediately disrupted if the government partially shuts down this week, the Trump Administration & state officials have several steps they could & should take to keep WIC running.
September 29, 2025 at 6:55 PM
NEW: Despite White House statements implying that #WIC benefits for low-income families would be immediately disrupted if the government partially shuts down this week, the Trump Administration & state officials have several steps they could & should take to keep WIC running.
Very appreciative of the opportunity to talk about how effective and important #WIC is with champions of young children gathered by @raisingillinois.bsky.social. www.raisingillinois.org/raising-our-...
September 26, 2025 at 12:57 PM
Very appreciative of the opportunity to talk about how effective and important #WIC is with champions of young children gathered by @raisingillinois.bsky.social. www.raisingillinois.org/raising-our-...
Not measuring food insecurity doesn't actually help people get enough to eat. There's so much we could do to to help. Understanding the problem makes responses more effective.
The Administration acknowledged that it will stop the survey that measures food insecurity, just as tariffs push up food prices and the deep cuts to food assistance enacted in July start to take effect. Congress must intervene to save these vital data. www.wsj.com/economy/trum...
Exclusive | Trump Administration Cancels Annual Hunger Survey
The government has been measuring food insecurity since the mid-1990s but now says the report has become “overly politicized.”
www.wsj.com
September 22, 2025 at 1:33 PM
Not measuring food insecurity doesn't actually help people get enough to eat. There's so much we could do to to help. Understanding the problem makes responses more effective.
It’s been reported that Congress might attach the ag appropriations bill—which funds the #WIC nutrition assistance program for families with young children & low incomes—to a stopgap funding measure that needs to be passed by the end of the month. punchbowl.news/article/wash...
GOP heading in different directions as funding fight begins
Government funding will run out in 28 days. And the Republican trifecta that controls Washington is pursuing three different strategies at the moment.
punchbowl.news
September 15, 2025 at 2:28 PM
It’s been reported that Congress might attach the ag appropriations bill—which funds the #WIC nutrition assistance program for families with young children & low incomes—to a stopgap funding measure that needs to be passed by the end of the month. punchbowl.news/article/wash...
Important update on WIC funding⬇️ As the appropriations process unfolds, it will be critical for policymakers to adopt the Senate's approach--providing enough funding for all eligible families who seek help to be served & receive the full fruit & vegetable benefit.
Yesterday, Senate appropriators approved their bill to set 2026 #WIC funding. In stark contrast to the House bill, the Senate version maintains the nearly 30-year commitment to providing enough funding to serve all eligible applicants with the full science-based food benefit.
July 14, 2025 at 4:50 PM
Important update on WIC funding⬇️ As the appropriations process unfolds, it will be critical for policymakers to adopt the Senate's approach--providing enough funding for all eligible families who seek help to be served & receive the full fruit & vegetable benefit.
If you work on #schoolmeals, you might be interested in the ramifications of the school voucher proposal in the Senate GOP reconciliation plan on public schools.
The national school voucher proposal in the Senate GOP reconciliation plan would threaten students’ access to quality public schools, give tax breaks to the wealthy, & override states that have rejected these harmful policies. Lawmakers who care about our kids’ futures should reject it.
June 26, 2025 at 5:19 PM
If you work on #schoolmeals, you might be interested in the ramifications of the school voucher proposal in the Senate GOP reconciliation plan on public schools.
House Republicans are advancing a bill that would cut WIC's fruit & vegetable benefit for toddlers & new or expecting parents, and still doesn't have enough funding to serve everyone who's eligible and expected to apply. Here are some details . . .
85 cents a day may not sound like a lot for a parent to purchase fruits & veggies for their toddler. Yet the House Ag Approps Chair called this amount “hugely inflated” & wants to eventually cut the already modest $26 monthly #WIC benefit to $10/month. appropriations.house.gov/schedule/mar...
Full Committee Markup of Fiscal Year 2026 Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Bill
appropriations.house.gov
June 13, 2025 at 5:35 PM
House Republicans are advancing a bill that would cut WIC's fruit & vegetable benefit for toddlers & new or expecting parents, and still doesn't have enough funding to serve everyone who's eligible and expected to apply. Here are some details . . .