[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 33 (Wednesday, February 22, 1995)]
[House]
[Page H1976]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


               SCHOOL LUNCH PROGRAM NECESSARY FOR AMERICA

  (Mr. FIELDS of Louisiana asked and was given permission to address 
the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. FIELDS of Louisiana. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong opposition to 
the Republican attempt to dismantle the Nation's School Lunch Program. 
I think it is a shame and a disgrace for my colleagues on the other 
side of the aisle to choose to tamper with something as basic as a 
school lunch.
  Currently, 57 percent of all students participate in this most needed 
program. We cannot abort our responsibility as national law makers and 
put tens of thousands of young innocent school children at the risk of 
not having the opportunity to have a balanced meal during the course of 
a school day, many of which depend on this meal as their only source of 
nutrition for the entire day.
  I believe that this Congress has a direct interest in the health and 
welfare of the Nation's children; making sure that each child attending 
school receives a well-balanced meal each school day.
  This is a responsibility and an obligation that one Member of this 
Congress is not willing to give up, and I hope my colleagues agree.


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