S. 3842 · Where this bill is now
In committee
Introduced in the Senate, Feb 11, 2026
What this bill does
In plain words · AI-written from the official summaryWIC lets people apply and get benefits remotely
Right now, people applying for WIC—a nutrition program for women, infants, and children—usually have to show up in person at an office. This bill makes it permanent that people can certify their eligibility, get recertified, or do nutritional risk evaluations over the phone or by video call instead. States could also mail or remotely issue the benefit cards instead of requiring people to pick them up in person.
How it affects you
If you're a parent, caregiver, or pregnant woman seeking WIC benefits, you'd be able to apply from home without traveling to an office. States would have up to 90 days to complete nutritional risk evaluations for remote applicants, and could let you start getting benefits right away while that evaluation is happening.
Read the official summary (Introduced in Senate, Feb 11, 2026)
21st Century WIC Act of 2026
This bill permanently allows individuals to remotely certify their eligibility for, and receive benefits through, the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC).
Specifically, the bill requires that a state agency allow an individual seeking a WIC certification, recertification, or a nutritional risk evaluation to do so by phone or through video teleconference, in addition to the in-person option.
A state agency has 90 days to collect data for a nutritional risk evaluation for a remotely certified individual. Further, a state agency may consider an applicant who meets the income eligibility standards to be temporarily eligible on an interim basis to participate in the program and may certify the individual for immediate participation without waiting for a nutritional risk evaluation.
The bill also allows states to provide benefits on WIC electronic benefit transfer cards through mail or remote issuance instead of requiring participants to pick up or reload benefits in person at a WIC office.
Further, the Department of Agriculture must report to Congress about the use of remote technologies and other digital tools in the WIC program.
Currently, individuals are generally required to be physically present to certify their WIC eligibility and receive benefits, with exceptions. The Food and Nutrition Service has temporarily waived these requirements and allowed remote certification and benefits using authorities that were originally provided by laws that were enacted to address COVID-19.
Written by AI (Claude) using only the official summary by the Congressional Research Service, the Library of Congress’s nonpartisan research staff. It can miss nuance, so check the official summary and the bill text for details.
2nd SessionS. 3842
A BILL
21st Century WIC Act of 2026
Sponsor: Sen. Roger Marshall (R-KS) · Introduced Feb 11, 2026 · Agriculture and Food · 1 version of the text
Sources: Congress.gov actions and votes · bill text from GovInfo · latest official action Feb 11, 2026: “Read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.”