[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 54 (Thursday, March 23, 1995)]
[House]
[Pages H3718-H3719]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           SCHOOL LUNCH CUTS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Michigan [Mr. Stupak] is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. STUPAK. Mr. Speaker, I am here tonight to remind our colleagues 
and the American people that what we are really talking about tonight 
in this so-called welfare reform debate, what we are really talking 
about is really politics. And it is really the politics of the rich and 
the poor.
  Some of you may remember that book, the Politics of the Rich and 
Poor. It was written by Kevin Phillips. He was President Reagan's 
economic advisor.
  And this politics of the rich and poor that we are talking about 
tonight goes against children, the nutrition program. The savings that 
you hear so much tonight that is going to come forth from the 
Republican proposal is not going for the deficit. It is not going to 
reduce the debt. It is going to go to the tax breaks in two weeks on 
this floor for the big corporations and for the wealthiest of this 
country. So let us talk about little bit about the poor.
  The poor tonight are the people in Michigan, the working folks who 
are sending their kids to school. And after this bill goes through 
tomorrow, and it will go through because they have more votes than we 
do, 7,100 children in Michigan will be denied the nutrition program. 
Michigan will lose $1.5 million for nutrition programs. These are the 
poor in Michigan who will lose tomorrow afternoon underneath the 
nutrition program.
  But who will win? Who is going to win in this whole program? AFDC. I 
do not mean Aid for Dependent Children. I mean aid for dependent 
corporations, the rich. If you look at it, in the fiscal 
 [[Page H3719]] year that we are in right now, $167.2 billion will be 
given to corporations as tax breaks, $167.2 billion. For each taxpayer 
out there listening tonight, that is $1388 is going to support 
corporate tax breaks, and all these dreaded programs you heard about 
tonight, what is it going to cost us as a country, $50 billion, $1415 
for each taxpayer, three times less.
  But if this bill goes through and the cuts that we are going to talk 
about the next day or two, and we are going to turn around the savings 
and give it for another tax break for the rich, where does the money 
go? Why are we giving millions of dollars to
 McDonald's Corporation to sell chicken nuggets overseas as a tax break 
but yet we are going to cut $7 billion over five years of the school 
nutrition program and all these students will be denied? Why do we give 
Campbell's Soup millions of dollars to sell soup overseas but yet we 
are going to cut our children $7 billion over five years.

  It is the politics of the rich and the poor all right. Today we had a 
chance to try to correct it with Mr. Deal's bill, the Democratic bill 
on welfare reform.
  Yes, we have to do some things differently. Mr. Deal put forth a 
proposal that made a lot of sense and was defeated by party lines, 205 
to 228, one Republican joined us.
  What did the Democratic bill say? It was a welfare reform bill. That 
means requiring and assisting people to move out of the dependency of 
welfare and into self-sufficiency, work. Democrats believe in tough and 
fair work requirements, something their bill, which is right here, 
1214, never had until yesterday.
  At least they are learning from us. What else did the Democrat bill 
have? We believe that individuals need education and job training to 
become self-sufficient. You just do not cut them off and say, go get a 
job. Individuals need the opportunity to find work.
  Welfare needs to be linked to work. That is what the Democratic 
proposal meant. That is what we believe in.
  Unfortunately, it was defeated, strictly on party lines.
  So as we do this debate tonight, remember, it is the politics of the 
rich and the poor. The poor are those who will be cut. Their cuts will 
go to pay for the tax breaks for the rich. AFDC, not Aid for Dependent 
Children, it is aid for dependent corporations.

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