[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 44 (Thursday, March 9, 1995)]
[House]
[Page H2900]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  LET US NOT QUESTION PARENTS FIGHTING FOR THEIR CHILDREN'S NUTRITION

  (Mr. MENENDEZ asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. MENENDEZ. Mr. Speaker, on Monday, demonstrators protesting the 
Republican cuts in school lunch and child nutrition programs raised 
their voices in opposition loud enough to scare the Speaker away.
  What was most interesting however, was not that the Speaker refused 
to confront his critics, but what the Speaker's later comments revealed 
about the way his mind works. With regard to the protesters, the 
Speaker asked, ``Why weren't they at work?''
  I have never heard the Speaker ask why bankers, who visit Washington 
to lobby for deregulation, were not at work.
  I have never heard the Speaker ask why high rollers who come to lobby 
for capital gains tax cuts were not at work.
  I have never heard the Speaker ask why the people who pay $50,000 for 
an exclusive fundraising dinner for one of his pet projects were not at 
work.
  Mr. Speaker, you gave us a rare look at your darkest, most privately 
held thoughts with that comment. Chanting with bullhorns may not 
qualify as dialog, but neither do comments such as yours.
  Let us not question those parents fighting for their children's 
nutrition.

                          ____________________