[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 44 (Thursday, March 9, 1995)]
[House]
[Page H2973]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                        FEDERAL FOOD ASSISTANCE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from North Carolina [Mrs. Clayton] is recognized for 5 
minutes.
  Mrs. CLAYTON. Mr. Speaker, from yesterday morning into the wee hours 
of this morning, for 15 hours, the Committee on Agriculture marked-up 
title five of the Personal Responsibility Act. That bill, with great 
reductions and many restrictions on feeding hungry Americans, is now 
poised for consideration on the House floor. Leadership of the 
committee is to be commended for eliminating the mandate for block 
granting the Food Stamp Program.
  A State option on block grants, however, remains in title five and 
will be an issue on the floor. Also, during mark-up, the committee 
accepted my amendment, which requires persons 18 to 50 years old, those 
who must work for food stamps, to be paid at least the minimum wage for 
their labor. Without my amendment, the bill would have forced many food 
stamp recipients to work for less than 1 dollar an hour. The 
agriculture committee was wise to support the amendment. But, with 
action by other committees, the block grant issue continues to loom 
large and will be hotly contested during floor consideration.
  Mr. Speaker, I would urge our colleagues, as we consider the block 
grant issue, to recall their days in school. Recall the importance of a 
hearty breakfast and a healthy lunch. Recall the necessity of the mid-
morning and mid-afternoon milk or snack break. Recall the sense of 
urgency each of you felt the first time you experienced the pangs of 
hunger. And, recall how the ache of not being fed in your stomachs 
prevented you from being fed in your minds. Mr. Speaker, this debate is 
not about party or politics or pocketbooks. This debate is about our 
young, and our old. This debate is about strong bodies and clear minds. 
This debate is about the future of this Nation. Understanding the 
future, however, sometimes lies in remembering the past. Recall the 
infant mortality rate in America before the WIC Program. That rate has 
been lowered by as much as 66 percent, in some cases. WIC works. Babies 
don't die today like they died in the past, because we invested in 
life. Recall the fact that since the Institution of Nutrition Programs, 
the gap between the diets of low-income and other families has 
narrowed, significantly. Stunting has decreased by 65 percent. Anemia 
has dramatically
 improved. Low birthweights are down. Mr. Speaker, it is easy to 
forget. Members of Congress dine at some of the finest restaurants. 
Eating is taken for granted. Hunger is unknown. But, while it is easy 
to forget, it is dangerous to fail to remember. This Nation is strong 
because we care for our weak. Every citizen is important. All can make 
a contribution. But, none, who is hungry, can participate or contribute 
in any meaningful way. Even those incarcerated in our jails and 
prisons, throughout the United States, are assured of three square 
meals a day. Surely, our children and seniors should get nothing less.

  Mr. Speaker, I have been increasingly concerned about how rapidly we 
are making major and dramatic changes to the way our Government 
functions, indeed, many of our colleagues have commented on the pace of 
this Congress. It seems that we are emphasizing quantity at the expense 
of quality, and, more importantly, at the expense of the American 
people. The U.S. Constitution has been amended just 27 times in more 
than 200 years, yet this Congress has proposed several new amendments 
in less than 50 days. Moreover, in the space of fewer than 3 months, we 
have proposed a balanced budget amendment, passed unfunded mandates 
legislation, proposed a Presidential line-item veto, rewritten last 
year's crime bill, passed a plethora of regulatory reform measures, 
acted on defense spending and national security matters in a couple of 
days, considered term limits, welfare reform and rescissions, and we 
are now in the midst of tort reform. In our rush to meet an artificial, 
100-day goal, it is a fair question to ask, are we hurting more than we 
are helping? Consider an article which appeared in today's New York 
Times. When the Personal Responsibility Act was marked up by the 
Committee on Economic and Educational Opportunities, the language 
passed resulted in 57,000 children of military families being denied 
access to the State feeding programs that would be established. To 
restore this feeding program for the military, it will cost the 
Pentagon more than $5 million for meals and another $5 million for 
administrative costs. It seems, Mr. Speaker, that we profess to want a 
strong military, yet we pass legislation that will cause military 
children to go hungry. These actions are either mean spirited or 
grossly negligent. Either way, America suffers.
  I urge my colleagues to stand up against nutrition program block 
grants. Let us demonstrate that a wise and thankful Nation really does 
remember.

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