[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 58 (Wednesday, May 7, 1997)]
[House]
[Page H2260]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        FUNDING FOR WIC PROGRAM

  (Ms. DeLAURO asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, as we begin to work out the details of last 
week's balanced budget agreement, we need to remember that the choices 
that we make in this body reflect the values of our Nation. Next week 
this Congress will have an opportunity to cast an important vote about 
our budget priorities when we vote on funding for the Women, Infants 
and Children program.
  Will this Congress vote to take milk, cereal, and formula off the 
breakfast tables of needy families, or will we vote to give this 
program the additional $38 million in funding that it needs to prevent 
180,000 women and children from being removed from the WIC Program?
  As we watch this budget agreement take shape, we need to vote to 
uphold the values of this Nation. We can start by fully funding the WIC 
Program, because it is a program that works. For every dollar spent, we 
save $3.50. It is a program that provides assistance to some of the 
most vulnerable members of our society. Democrats are united in our 
opposition to WIC reductions, and I urge my Republican colleagues to 
join us in voting to restore the full amount of the President's request 
for WIC.

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