[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 36 (Monday, February 27, 1995)]
[House]
[Page H2233]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                           FEED THE CHILDREN

  (Ms. PELOSI asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. PELOSI. Mr. Speaker, last week when we saw the proposals that 
were being made by the Republican leadership to cut the Federal 
nutrition programs, our colleague, Tony Hall, a great leader in the 
fight against hunger in America and indeed throughout the world, said, 
``Up until now, the issue of hunger has not been debatable.'' Indeed it 
should not be. A great country, a decent country like ours should heed 
the Bible and feed the hungry.
  Before we vote on these changes, because we will have to vote on 
them, which will jeopardize our children's health, we should think and 
we should listen. We should listen to the teachers. Teachers tell us 
that a hungry child is a distracted child. A good meal is an investment 
in learning. We should listen to the doctors. With the WIC Program, the 
doctors tell us that a dollar spent on nutrition for a pregnant mom 
saves $4 to be spent on problems to be dealt with with a sick child 
later, a malnourished child later.
  In addition to our concern about the child, this has fiscal 
overtones. We should listen to the generals. It is indeed they who had 
suggested the School Lunch Program when they saw that our troops were 
malnourished in the 1940's.
  This is not about domestic versus defense. This is about a strong 
defense. We must feed our children.


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