FY23 Federal Budget Signed Into Law: What It Means for Infant Feeding

The Senate and House passed and the President signed the Fiscal Year 2023 omnibus spending package into law. The package contains all twelve appropriations bills which include a variety of funding provisions that impact infant feeding. Highlights include: 

• $9.75M for the CDC Hospitals Promoting Breastfeeding program, level funding from the previous fiscal year
• $90M for the WIC Breastfeeding Peer Counselor Program, level funding from the previous fiscal year
• $1.25M for an analysis of the macroeconomic, health, and social costs of U.S. breastfeeding rates and national breastfeeding goals

Visit the "Federal Appropriations for Breastfeeding" webpage for a comprehensive look at the final funding levels for federal agencies and programs that impact infant feeding. 

The omnibus spending package also included historic passage of the PUMP for Nursing Mothers Act and the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act.

​In addition, the bill language and associated explanatory statements include the following provisions:

• Financial Services and General Government: Continues the provision that permits breastfeeding in a Federal building or on Federal property if the woman and child are authorized to be there.
• Department of Homeland Security Appropriations: The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency is directed to provide semiannual reports on the total number of pregnant, postpartum, and lactating women in ICE custody, including detailed justification of the circumstances warranting each such detainee's continued detention.
• State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs: The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is required to publish a report on the following outcomes achieved during the previous fiscal year, disaggregated by country: (1) the approximate number of treatments provided to children for pneumonia and diarrhea, reported separately, as a result of U.S. Government assistance; and (2) the approximate number of mothers and infants who received postnatal care within two days of childbirth as a result of such assistance.

The Fiscal Year 2023 budget is complete but the Fiscal Year 2024 federal budget process is already underway. Federal funding for breastfeeding remains a top policy priority for the U.S. Breastfeeding Committee. Join us by taking action:

• Organizations are invited to sign on to the Welcome Congress letter urging Congress to prioritize breastfeeding during the 118th Congressional Session, including by supporting federal funding for breastfeeding
• Individuals can use the USBC easy action tool to urge the President and Vice President to invest in breastfeeding
• Donate to support USBC advocacy efforts