[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 166 (Wednesday, October 25, 1995)]
[House]
[Page H10753]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    FOCUS SHOULD BE ON THE CHILDREN

  (Mr. JOHNSTON of Florida asked and was given permission to address 
the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. JOHNSTON of Florida. Mr. Speaker, Hubert Humphrey once said that 
``the moral test of government is how that government treats those who 
are in the dawn of life, the children; those who are in the twilight of 
life, the elderly; and those who are in the shadows of life--the sick, 
the needy and the handicapped.''
  I would like to focus on the children. In the United States today, a 
child is born into poverty every 30 seconds.
  Yet my Republican colleagues are systematically throwing millions of 
lower middle class families with children into poverty.
  By cutting Medicaid, school lunch programs, student loans, low income 
heating assistance, the earned income tax credit, Federal housing 
assistance, aid for families with dependent children, and education 
they are cutting short the hopes of the children of this country.
  These cuts will push millions of children into the shadows of life, 
and into lives of uncertainty, insecurity, and poverty.
  In the United States, every 30 seconds a baby is born into poverty. 
Are we now shooting for every 15 seconds?
  At some point, Mr. Speaker, my colleagues on the other side of the 
aisle must ask themselves if giving a tax break to the wealthiest 
Americans is worth the cost of our children.

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