[Congressional Bills 103th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Con. Res. 65 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

103d CONGRESS
  2d Session
S. CON. RES. 65

     To express the sense of Congress that any health care reform 
legislation passed by Congress include guaranteed full funding for the 
  special supplemental food program for women, infants, and children 
(WIC) so that all eligible women, infants, and children who apply could 
  be served by the end of fiscal year 1996 and full funding could be 
      maintained through fiscal year 2000, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

             March 24 (legislative day, February 22), 1994

   Mr. Leahy (for himself and Mr. Jeffords) submitted the following 
     concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on 
                  Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry

_______________________________________________________________________

                         CONCURRENT RESOLUTION


 
     To express the sense of Congress that any health care reform 
legislation passed by Congress include guaranteed full funding for the 
  special supplemental food program for women, infants, and children 
(WIC) so that all eligible women, infants, and children who apply could 
  be served by the end of fiscal year 1996 and full funding could be 
      maintained through fiscal year 2000, and for other purposes.

Whereas the special supplemental food program for women, infants, and children 
        (WIC) established under section 17 of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 
        (42 U.S.C. 1786) saves medical costs by preventing low birth weight, 
        reducing anemia, and increasing immunizations;
Whereas a study conducted by the General Accounting Office concluded that WIC 
        reduces the incidence of very low birth weight by 44 percent;
Whereas a 1993 study conducted by the Secretary of Agriculture found that 
        savings attributable to WIC, due to the reduction of very low birth 
        weight, ranged from $2,300,000 in Florida to $4,500,000 in North 
        Carolina in reduced medical assistance costs under title XIX of the 
        Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1396 et seq.);
Whereas a study released by the Secretary of Agriculture in 1991 demonstrated 
        that for each dollar spent on a pregnant woman under the WIC program, 
        the associated savings in medical assistance costs for illnesses 
        beginning in the first 60 days after birth ranged from $1.92 to $4.21 
        for newborns and mothers and from $2.98 to $4.75 for newborns only;
Whereas a study conducted by the General Accounting Office found that WIC 
        benefits provided to all eligible pregnant women would more than pay for 
        themselves in 1 year and would avert more than $1,000,000,000 in health-
        related costs over an 18-year period;
Whereas the WIC program reduces iron deficiency anemia, which affects nearly 25 
        percent of poor children in the United States and is associated with 
        impaired cognitive development and increases in the risk of lead 
        poisoning;
Whereas the WIC program reduces fetal death and infant mortality;
Whereas the United States ranks below 20 other countries in infant mortality 
        rates and behind 73 other countries in percentage of infants born at low 
        birth weight;
Whereas the Tufts University Center on Hunger, Poverty, and Nutrition Policy 
        found that even short-term undernutrition jeopardizes the physical 
        health, brain development, and cognitive functioning of young children;
Whereas 4- and 5-year olds whose mothers participated in the WIC program during 
        pregnancy demonstrate higher vocabulary test scores, and children who 
        participated in the WIC program after the 1st birthday of the children 
        score higher on memory tests;
Whereas in 1991 corporate executive officers of 5 major corporations testified 
        at a congressional hearing about the need to fully fund the WIC program 
        by 1996 and concluded that ``each pregnant woman, infant, and child who 
        could benefit from WIC but is left out of the program represents a 
        potential drain on budgetary outlays in subsequent years and on our 
        Nation's future economic growth, not to mention a tragic loss in human 
        potential'';
Whereas more than 3,000,000 women, infants, and children are eligible but are 
        not currently served by the WIC program; and
Whereas 1994 is the 20th anniversary of the WIC program: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives concurring),

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This resolution may be cited as the ``A Child is Waiting 
Resolution''.

SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON FULL FUNDING FOR WIC PROGRAM.

    It is the sense of Congress that--
            (1) any health care reform legislation passed by Congress 
        include guaranteed full funding for the special supplemental 
        food program for women, infants, and children (WIC) established 
        under section 17 of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 
        1786) so that all eligible women, infants, and children who 
        apply could be served by the end of fiscal year 1996 and full 
        funding could be maintained through fiscal year 2000; and
            (2) at least $3,564,000,000, should be made available for 
        fiscal year 1995 to move toward the full funding goal described 
        in paragraph (1).

                                 <all>