[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 50 (Thursday, April 24, 1997)]
[House]
[Page H1798]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            WOMEN AND INFANT CARE PROGRAM SHOULD NOT BE CUT

  (Mr. FLAKE asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. FLAKE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to ask my colleagues to give 
major consideration to a program that I think is one of America's 
finest, and that is the women and infant care program, which I 
understand that many are talking about cutting.
  When we talk about a Nation where infant mortality is at such a high 
rate that it compares very favorably to many Third World countries, it 
seems to me that a program that addresses the needs of pregnant women, 
children before and after birth, ought not be one that we ought to be 
using the budget knife to slice.
  In reality, when we talk about what America is all about, it would 
seem to me our primary interest ought to be in the protection of our 
babies and our children, and clearly one of the best programs that we 
have that addresses that concern is the Women and Infant Care Program.
  I think if we talk about budget cuts with WIC, we lose the 
opportunity to provide for milk, the bread and all of the other 
necessities for the nutrition of these young children, and in doing so, 
I think it represents a blight on America.
  I would hope that committees that are giving consideration to budget 
cuts in this area would reconsider and think more favorably about a 
program that is doing what it was intended to do, and that is meet the 
needs of our infants and our pregnant mothers.

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