[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 54 (Thursday, March 23, 1995)]
[House]
[Pages H3706-H3707]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                  NUMBERS OF CHILDREN AND SCHOOL LUNCH

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from Connecticut [Ms. DeLauro] is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, last night, we showed how the Republicans 
are playing a shell game with the Nation's child nutrition programs. We 
illustrated that the Republicans would rob Peter to pay Paul in order 
to support programs, such as school lunch, school breakfast, and WIC. 
Tonight, no games--just the sad, sorry truth.
  The truth is if the Republican welfare reform proposal is enacted, 
thousands of children in this country will lose their access to a 
nutritious school lunch. The number I am placing on this map tonight 
represents the 3,600 children in my homestate of Connecticut who will 
be dropped from the School Lunch Program under the Republican 
proposal--and that's in the first year alone. The Republican plan cuts 
funding for school lunch and by doing so it cuts kids. The Republican 
plan takes money away from programs, like school lunch, which are 
efficient, effective, and working to keep our kids healthy and 
productive, for one reason and one reason only--to pay for tax cuts for 
the rich.
  This is the truth. This is why the Republican welfare proposal must 
be defeated. I urge my colleagues to look at this map and contemplate 
the horror of these number. These numbers represent children--children 
who need our help and who are relying on us to do the right thing. I 
urge my colleagues to remember their needs when the time comes to cast 
this important vote.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield to my colleague from Puerto Rico [Mr. Romero-
Barcelo].
  Mr. ROMERO-BARCELO. Mr. Speaker, we are witnessing an assault on the 
 [[Page H3707]] children of this Nation. Many of our colleagues from 
the other side of the aisle know this and they still have time to 
address the draconian measures contained in the Republican welfare 
bill.
  Good programs that work, that have bipartisan support, are being 
sacrificed under the guise of efficiency and savings. For example, the 
School Lunch Program has no guaranteed funding level in this bill, 
contrary to current law. Governors and State bureaucrats may assign 
only 80 percent of the funds of the block grant for school meals and 
will be able to divert up to 20 percent to other welfare programs. This 
may lead to the neglect of legitimate and vital nutrition needs for our 
children.
  The concept of block grants is being sold as a panacea for all the 
ills related to welfare. The Republicans claim that administrative 
costs and bureaucracy will be cut by block granting programs. In fact, 
the Republican bill actually increases bureaucracy. Under current law, 
the administrative cap on the child nutrition programs--except WIC--is 
1.8 percent. The proposed block grant increases such costs to 2 percent 
and adds another layer of State bureaucracy, charged now with even 
determining the immigration status of children.
  The cuts to nutrition programs for children are real. The 
Congressional Budget Office estimates that this bill cuts $7 billion in 
the next 5 years. To add insult to injury, the so-called savings will 
be used to finance tax cuts, subsidies, and perks for wealthy 
individuals and corporations. The Republican admit that these moneys 
are not geared toward deficit reduction but will go to
 pay for their special tax package, which will cost America over $180 
billion in the next 5 years. The cost is even higher when we take into 
consideration the harm this bill can inflict in programs that truly 
help our children.

  Beginning in October, the start of the fiscal year, the School Lunch 
Program will suffer a cut of over $140 million forcing approximately 
503,000 needy children out of the program. This is only the tip of the 
iceberg, more children will be either forced out or underserved in 
years to come.
  In my district, Puerto Rico, just as everywhere else in the Nation, 
the school breakfast and lunch programs have been excellent programs 
for many years. I assure you that healthy children equate with healthy 
minds. Feeding our students mean that they are ready and able to learn. 
As I have stated before, this is a simple premise, but it is a premise 
that has worked well since the original School Lunch Program was signed 
into law in 1946.
  As a former mayor and Governor, I believe that it is a shame to 
destroy such a successful program. I have grave reservations about the 
effectiveness of a system of block grants where vitally necessary 
nutrition programs are forced to compete against each other for 
increasingly scarce dollars. Local officials will have to juggle 
powerful local interests which will affect the distribution of the 
funds available under this massive block grant.
  In Puerto Rico, for instance, the reduction of $129 million less in 
Federal funding for nutrition assistance programs in the next 5 years, 
would limit our children's access to this important program, severely 
risking our children's nutrition and health.
  There are many children in school in Puerto Rico who, unfortunately, 
must depend on the school nutrition program. Remember, Mr. Speaker, 
that these children can't vote and have no way to defend themselves in 
this welfare war. No student in Puerto Rico or elsewhere in the United 
States deserves to go to school hungry or suffer from malnutrition. 
Taking school lunches and breakfasts away from children will result in 
more children falling further behind because children simply don't 
learn as well when they are hungry.
  Don't cut the school lunch program and other important nutrition 
programs. Don't continue expensive and inefficient corporate welfare 
programs and tax subsidies for wealthy corporations at the expense of 
our children's physical and emotional health. We need true welfare 
reform that helps people--not this mean-spirited Contract With America 
proposal that threatens our children, the handicapped, the poor, and 
the elderly.
  Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from New York 
[Mrs. Lowey].
  Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague.
  Mr. Speaker, we all agree that reform of the welfare system is long 
overdue. The current system is costing billions and not solving the 
problem. It does not put people to work but instead has created an 
unhealthy cycle of dependency. But this bill does nothing to improve 
the welfare system so that children in poor families can themselves be 
successful and avoid a cycle of dependency. It does not make welfare 
work for children by moving their parents into work--rather, it would 
hurt children by moving their parents off the welfare rolls and onto 
the streets.
  Let me outline the effect the majority's bill would have on children 
in New York: Over the next 5 years, 24,240 children would lose access 
to child care;
 16,592 children would lose access to assistance and medical services 
under the SSI Program; 477,000 children living in poverty would lose 
cash assistance by the year 2000; in 1996, some 8,500 children would no 
longer receive assistance to buy school lunches.

  Mr. Speaker, the majority's bill will not work for children and their 
families. That's why we support a bill that promotes work--and works 
for children.
  Welfare to work--not welfare to nowhere.

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