Government shutdown: Alaska’s 14,000 WIC families to receive funding through October, Murkowski’s office confirms

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) – The USDA has allocated $300 million to keep Alaska’s Women, Infants and Children program, known as WIC, running through October during the government shutdown, Sen. Lisa Murkowski’s office confirmed to Alaska’s News Source Thursday.

“Senator Murkowski was relieved that USDA has found the funding to ensure WIC participants will continue to receive benefits through the end of October should the government shutdown persist,” Murkowski spokesperson Joe Plesha said Thursday. “While our office is still awaiting details about how the funding will be implemented and whether this transfer of funds will at all impact school or childcare nutrition programs, this program is too vital to lapse. She is pleased that a temporary solution to this specific problem has been reached to allow time for negotiations to continue.”

WIC, according to the Alaska Department of Health, “offers free healthy foods, nutrition, and breastfeeding assessment, education, and support.” The program serves pregnant and breastfeeding women, children under five, and foster parents who meet income and nutritional need guidelines.

Alaska had 14,319 participants in the WIC program in 2024, according to the USDA, about 2% of Alaska’s population that same year. Nationally, the program served more than 6.5 million participants.

“As of today, Alaska WIC remains fully operational,” according to the program’s website, which includes an alert reading, “Alaska WIC clinics are open for business as usual, and you may continue to shop for your WIC foods.”

WIC is the second Alaska program to receive additional funding since the government shutdown began nine days ago.

Promises from Trump and Dunleavy

The White House had promised funding for the program earlier this week, though the amount was left unclear until Thursday’s announcement.

“The Democrats are so cruel in their continual votes to shut down the government that they forced the WIC program for the most vulnerable women and children to run out this week,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said on social media Tuesday. “Thankfully, President Trump and the White House have identified a creative solution to transfer resources from Section 232 tariff revenue to this critical program.”

Section 232 tariffs are imposed on goods which “threaten to impair” U.S. national security, according to the Congressional Research Service.

Before Thursday’s funding announcement, Georgia Machell, president and CEO of the National WIC Association, welcomed the efforts from the Trump administration but noted “families need long-term stability, not short-term uncertainty.”

The National WIC Association has not released a statement since the Murkowski office announcement.

If that initial promise from the Trump administration didn’t materialize, or the expected funding runs out, Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s spokesperson Jeff Turner said in an email the state would step in, expecting USDA reimbursement.

“If the state needs to fund WIC benefits, the funds will not be diverted from anywhere else,” Turner said. “We are early enough in the fiscal year that the Department of Health has sufficient funds on hand until the USDA can reimburse the state.”

Turner added the state received notice for a federal award of $500,000 in WIC food funds Thursday morning.

“WIC benefits will be covered by the state if federal funding expires during the shutdown,” Turner said. “SNAP is a mandatory program that will also continue.”

WIC in Alaska

Shannon Davenport, president of the Alaska Nurses Association, said WIC is essential in Alaska.

“At Providence Hospital, that’s where I work, we do the best we can for our patients, but WIC is also an organization that can kind of step in and help those families that need a little bit more,” Davenport said.

She said if WIC wasn’t available the results could be disastrous.

“I think we’re going to see more people in our emergency rooms,” she said. “I think we’re going to see more people in our food banks and our homeless shelters.”

Davenport added that she believes a lack of funding could also increase disease and infection rates within the state due to confusion in where to get access to the same resources.

Davenport is not alone in her concerns. Rachel Miller, chief advocacy officer at the Food Bank of Alaska, said that while the food bank does not use WIC funding, the program plays a critical role in Alaska.

“We know that our state can’t afford any cuts to WIC, but we also can’t afford any gaps in time with WIC,” Miller said. “I hope the state has enough funds encumbered to cover any gap that we’re going to see in WIC due to the federal shutdown.”

Both women have reported seeing increased demand from Alaskans as winter approaches but say cuts and the shutdown is also playing a role.

“Anytime there is a shutdown, anytime there is a gap in any government assistance or resource, there is uncertainty, and unfortunately, food is the most flexible budget line in a household,” Miller said.

“The more that these cuts come down, the more the shutdown continues, it means more and more people are going to be coming to the hospital,” Davenport said. “And when are they coming? … They’re gonna wait till they’re really sick.”

Alaska’s News Source reached out to the Alaska Department of Health’s WIC program. A staff member said the department was working on a statement but had not provided that as of publication.

Shutdown enters day 9

After more than a week of impasse, congressional leaders continue to make little progress in passing a plan to fund the government.

Republicans say Democrats have refused to pass what they call a “clean continuing resolution” in the Senate, a bill that maintains current government spending levels without policy changes or additions.

If the resolution receives 60 votes, it will end the government shutdown. With almost all Republicans voting for it (Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., cast the lone no vote) Democrats would need to provide the remaining votes.

Democratic leaders dispute that characterization, arguing the Republican bill isn’t truly “clean” because it ignores Democratic demands to restore nearly $1 trillion in Medicaid cuts and extend enhanced Affordable Care Act tax credits set to expire Dec. 31. Democrats say the credits would preserve health insurance for 3.8 million people.

In his statement to Alaska’s News Source confirming the USDA funding, Plesha said “Senator Murkowski continues to aggressively pursue solutions with her colleagues that will bring an end to this shutdown as soon as possible.”

Murkowski has proposed a plan she said would “avert government shutdown,” which includes $30 million for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, an extension of enhanced premium tax credits set to expire at the beginning of August, and three appropriations bills.

“What’s going to happen next week is it’s going to get serious because we’re looking at getting close to the 15th,” David Owens, a national representative with the American Federation of Government Employees, said Thursday, referencing when federal employees would receive their last paycheck until the shutdown ends.

“It’ll have a major impact on the military. And I think a lot of members of Congress will start thinking a little bit different when the military members aren’t being paid and they’re in harm’s way,” he added.

Owens said federal employees will still receive one more paycheck before the shutdown affects their pay.

If the Senate doesn’t pass the current resolution, Congress would need to introduce and pass a new resolution through both chambers. The president would then need to sign the proposal for it to become law.

Alaska’s News Source reached out to Alaska’s entire congressional delegation for comment on WIC and the government shutdown. Sen. Dan Sullivan’s office told Alaska’s News Source, “The Trump administration is working on a solution to keep WIC funded through tariff revenues. We will be getting more details on that in the coming days.”

See a spelling or grammar error? Report it to web@ktuu.com

Copyright 2025 KTUU. All rights reserved.