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For the first time in decades, many states could begin turning away eligible applicants from an assistance program that provides low-income women and their children critical access to food. The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children, a federally funded program known as WIC, has traditionally received bipartisan support from lawmakers. But the broader push for spending cuts among some House Republicans has threatened the program’s ability to provide benefits to every eligible person who applies. Lawmakers are running up against a Jan. 19 deadline to extend funding. (Ngo, 1/10)

A new federal program will provide summer grocery money to 21 million children across 35 states, part of the Biden administration's goal of making sure students get enough food when they're not in school and can't access free or reduced breakfast and lunch. The program will be rolled out in 35 states and all five U.S. territories, while four tribes have also opted into the Summer Electronic Benefits Transfer program, or Summer EBT, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said on Wednesday. (Picchi, 1/10)

Summer EBT will work a little differently depending on the state, but generally states will identify which families qualify for the $120 or more in benefits and either mail out EBT cards for the summer, or load the value onto existing benefit cards. Then families can use that money to buy food at their local grocery store. (Belsha, 1/10)

Texas is passing up nearly $350 million in federal aid to help feed millions of low-income children during the summer months after a state agency said it lacked the time and resources to implement the program this year. Summer EBT, a new U.S. Department of Agriculture program approved by Congress in 2022, will provide families in participating states with funds to buy groceries to fill the void when their children are not receiving meals at school. ... Texas is among a minority of 16 states not participating. (Goldenstein, 1/10)

As Speaker Mike Johnson gathered House Republicans behind closed doors Wednesday to sell the spending deal he reached with Democrats, one thing quickly became clear: many GOP lawmakers weren’t buying it. .. In the afternoon, 13 Republicans refused to support a routine procedural vote setting the stage for considering three GOP-led bills. A similar revolt occurred in June when, for the first time in some 20 years, such a routine vote was defeated, essentially grinding the House to a halt. (Freking, 1/11)

GOP hardliners are balking at a government funding compromise negotiated by House and Senate leaders. NPR's Steve Inskeep talks with Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia about the impasse. (1/11)

Congressional lawmakers are closing in on a deal that would partially revive President Biden’s expanded tax credit for lower-income families in exchange for extending tax incentives favored by business interests, according to two people familiar with the matter. The higher child tax credit for lower-income families took effect in 2021 but expired that same year amid GOP opposition. Since then, Democrats have sought to bring back the higher credit, which they say pulled millions of lower-income families out of poverty. (Bogage and Stein, 1/10)

Lawmakers are halfway through the congressional session, and it looks like it could be a historic one for the wrong reasons, according to congressional data. The 118th Congress is on track to being one of the least functional sessions ever, with only 34 bills passed since January of last year, the lowest number of bills passed in the first year of a congressional session since the Great Depression, according to congressional records. (LoCascio, Siege and Pereira, 1/10)