[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 130 (Saturday, August 5, 1995)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1648]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


  DEPARTMENTS OF LABOR, HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, AND EDUCATION, AND 
               RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 1996

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                               speech of

                          HON. JERROLD NADLER

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, August 2, 1995

       The House in Committee of the Whole House on the State of 
     the Union had under consideration the bill (H.R. 2127) making 
     appropriations for the Departments of Labor, Health and Human 
     Services, and Education, and related agencies, for the fiscal 
     year ending September 30, 1996, and for other purposes:

  Mr. NADLER. Mr. Chairman, I rise in opposition to the mean-spirited 
provision in this bill that would cut funding for senior meals 
programs.
  For a very small Federal investment, senior means programs provide 
immeasurable nutritional and social benefits for seniors nationwide. 
For many seniors, federally funded nutritional programs are their only 
source of hot, nutritious meals. For others, a daily visit to the lunch 
program at the local senior center reduces the isolation often 
associated with our later years. These are benefits that cannot be 
measured.
  I have, in my office, hundreds of truly heartfelt letters from 
seniors expressing how much these programs mean to them. One of my 
constituents writes:

       I am unable to cook for myself being infirm. The Meals on 
     Wheels is the only hot meal I eat daily. I am 91 years old. 
     Before I retired at the age of 58, I worked as a flower 
     maker. I went blind. I live on a fixed income and the healthy 
     lunches provided help me get through the month. These meals 
     make my life worth living. I could not manage without the 
     Meals on Wheels program.

  Such sentiments are echoed in the hundreds of letters I have received 
from seniors opposed to cuts in congregate and home-delivered senior 
meals programs. We cannot turn our backs on seniors who rely on these 
programs. I urge my colleagues to join me in opposing these cuts.


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