WIC Applicability of the Departmental Nonprocurement Suspension and Debarment Regulations to WIC Program Vendors

Recently we were asked to clarify whether WIC vendors were exclude from the certification requirements set forth in Departmental regulations 7 CFR Part 3017, Non-procurement Suspension and Debarment. This rule requires persons who are applying to participate in covered transactions at both the primary and lower-tier level to certify that neither they nor their principals are presently debarred, suspended, or proposed for debarment by any Federal department or agency under the government-wide non-procurement, debarment and suspension regulations. Covered transactions include numerous types of non-procurement transactions in the Department's domestic assistance programs including grants, cooperative agreements, scholarships, fellowships, loans, loan guarantees, subsidies, insurance payments, payments for specified use and donation agreements.

We have concluded that neither the authorization of vendors to accept WIC food instruments, nor the exchange of a WIC food instrument between a certified WIC participant and an approved WIC vendor represents a "covered transaction." Therefore, WIC vendors are not subject to the certification requirements stated at 7 CFR Part 3017.