[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 35 (Friday, February 24, 1995)]
[House]
[Pages H2216-H2217]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                         WIC: A HEALTH PROGRAM

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Florida [Mr. Bilirakis] is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. BILIRAKIS. Mr. Speaker, I strongly support efforts to streamline 
Government programs to make them more efficient and cost effective. 
However, as we implement these reforms, we must make sure our efforts 
are in the best interest of the individuals these programs are meant to 
serve. Cutting costs should not mean cutting corners.
  So, as we work diligently in the days ahead to trim the size of our 
Government and reduce Federal spending, I don't want to focus only on 
what is broken or at least expendable. I also want to look at what is 
working.
  When initiatives do work, we should take that knowledge and 
experience and apply it in other areas. One proven program which 
deserves our attention is the supplemental food program for women, 
infants and children--or WIC as it is better known.
  Many people may think of WIC as a welfare program but it is really a 
public health program. WIC is designed to influence a lifetime of good 
nutrition and health behaviors. It provides specific nutritious foods 
to at-risk, income-eligible pregnant, postpartum, and breastfeeding 
women, infants and children up to 5 years of age.
  WIC has a 20-year track record of providing effective, cost-efficient 
services to some of the Nation's most vulnerable citizens.
  Since 1974, WIC has grown from a program operated by a handful of 
local health departments, hospitals, and community organizations to one 
serving more than 6 million people through a network of approximately 
9,000 clinics nationwide. In my home State of Florida, WIC serves all 
67 counties and over 312,000 clients each month.
  WIC results in significant increases in the number of women receiving 
adequate prenatal care and enhances the 
[[Page H2217]]  dietary intake of pregnant and postpartum women, 
improving their weight gain.
  For infants, WIC prenatal benefits reduce low and very low birth 
weights. WIC lowers infant mortality rate by 25 percent among 
participating Medicaid beneficiaries.
  For children, WIC participation leads to higher rates of immunization 
against childhood diseases. The immunization rate in Pasco County, FL, 
is almost 100 percent and this rate is attributed to the WIC Program. 
WIC also reduces anemia among children.
  WIC children are more ready to learn as compared to those children 
not in WIC. Four- and five-year-olds participating in WIC have better 
vocabularies and digit memory scores than children not participating in 
WIC.
  Numerous studies have shown that WIC is not only a successful 
prevention program, it is cost effective. WIC is a Government program 
that actually saves money.
  Every dollar spent on pregnant women in WIC produces between $2 to $4 
in Medicaid savings for newborns and their mothers. In 1992, WIC 
benefits averted $853 million in health expenditures during the first 
year of life of infants.
  WIC should be a model for entrepreneurial government. In 1994, $1.1 
billion in rebate revenue was generated from the manufacturers of 
infant formula, allowing 1.5 million more participants to be served. 
Local WIC agencies coordinate their services with other health and 
social service programs as needed. By coordinating these services, the 
WIC Program is able to reduce the number of bureaucracies a family must 
deal with. H.R. 4, the Personal Responsibility Act, currently includes 
the WIC Program in a nutrition block grant. I am concerned that if WIC 
is included in this block grant, the program will lose critical 
components that make it a success today.
  In closing, I would like to include as a part of this statement a 
letter I received from one of my constituents, Clara Lawhead, who is 
the director of the Pasco County, FL, WIC Program.
  A partial quote from that letter says:

       WIC is helping us to shape our future by helping to produce 
     healthier children. WIC is not only vital to maintaining and 
     improving our current health as a nation, but will be 
     absolutely instrumental in creating a healthy population for 
     the next century.

  I have seen what the WIC Program can do for children and their 
mothers. We must make sure our reform efforts do not erode the ability 
of a proven program like WIC to provide essential services to women and 
children.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to very carefully review proposals 
that reform our Nation's nutrition programs as we craft final welfare 
reform legislation.
  The letter referred to follows:

                                     Odessa, FL, January 31, 1995.
     Congressman Michael Bilirakis,
     Longworth House Office Building, Washington, DC.
       Dear Congressman Bilirakis: Recent legislative proposals 
     threaten the survival of the Special Supplemental Nutrition 
     Program for Women, Infants and Children, known as WIC. WIC 
     provides access to maternal, prenatal and pediatric health 
     care services for a targeted high risk population. It is a 
     prevention program designed to influence a lifetime of good 
     nutrition and health behaviors. WIC provides quality 
     nutrition education and services, breastfeeding promotion and 
     education and food prescriptions to qualified participants. 
     WIC is administered through area health agencies and 
     coordinates services with other maternal and child health 
     care. More than 70 evaluation studies have demonstrated the 
     effectiveness of WIC and proven medical, health and nutrition 
     successes for women, infants and children.
       WIC has proven its cost effectiveness in the past and will 
     continue to present the public with cost savings in the 
     future, unless this legislation, which would severely limit 
     the WIC Program, is passed. Because of the WIC Program, for 
     example, Medicaid costs were reduced on average from $12,000 
     to $15,000 per infant for very low birthweight prevented. In 
     1990, the federal government spent $296 million on prenatal 
     WIC benefits, averting $853 million in health expenditures 
     during the first year of life. Every dollar spent on pregnant 
     women in WIC produces $1.92 to $4.21 in Medicaid savings for 
     new borns and their mother. These are incredible examples of 
     the savings that the WIC Program brings to our country each 
     year.
       Even more important to the American public than the cost 
     savings are the incredible improvements to the health of our 
     infants and children. Infant mortality during the first 28 
     days was reduced with WIC participation in four out of five 
     states. The infant mortality rate has been reduced by 25% to 
     66% among Medicaid beneficiaries participating in WIC. WIC 
     significantly improves breastfeeding rates, immunization 
     rates of children and children's diets. WIC reduces the rates 
     of anemia among children. Four and five year olds 
     participating in WIC in early childhood have better 
     vocabularies and digit memory scores than children not 
     participating in WIC. WIC is helping us to shape our future, 
     by helping to produce healthier children. WIC is not only 
     vital to maintaining and improving our current health as a 
     nation, but will be absolutely instrumental in creating a 
     healthy population for the next century, unless this 
     legislation is allowed to pass with WIC included.
       Congressman Bilirakis, it would be in the best interest of 
     all Americans, both young and old, if the proposed 
     legislation, called the ``Personal Responsibility Act'' and a 
     ``Medicaid Swap'' were not allowed to be approved, with WIC 
     included, by the United States Congress. Unlike most of the 
     institutions mentioned in these pieces of legislation, the 
     WIC program is not a welfare program, rather a supplemental 
     nutrition program. The participants of WIC include middle 
     class Americans, a part of society which can ill afford more 
     benefits removed from their grasp. Americans across our great 
     country hope that you and the other members of Congress will 
     have the insight and knowledge to defeat the inclusion of WIC 
     in the proposed legislation.
           Sincerely, your friend and ally,
     Clara H. Lawhead.

                          ____________________