Washington, DC -- Legislation introduced by Michael Bennet to protect the eligibility of military families for income sensitive child nutrition programs passed the Senate yesterday.
Bennet introduced the Military Family Nutrition Protection Act of 2009 so military families will not be penalized for their service to our country.
Under previous guidelines the additional pay received by military personnel when deployed was factored into determining eligibility for several child nutrition programs. These programs include the National School Lunch Program and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC). WIC provides health care and nutrition assistance for mothers and infants, including vouchers for food.
"Taking away these nutritional benefits to kids and families when a loved one is being deployed doesn’t make any sense. Our military families are already struggling in these tough economic times and the challenges only increase when a family member is deployed,” Bennet said. “This bill is a common-sense fix that will make sure our kids aren’t denied access to healthy foods when their family members are bravely serving our nation in combat overseas."
Bennet introduced this bipartisan legislation with Mike Johanns (NE-R) and Bob Casey (PA-D).
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