[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 63 (Wednesday, May 14, 1997)]
[House]
[Page H2596]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               LET US FEED OUR CHILDREN AND EDUCATE THEM

  (Mr. GREEN asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. GREEN. Mr. Speaker, last night the majority Republicans made a 
wise decision in including full funding for the WIC programs. They 
threatened originally to cut the President's $76 million request for 
additional fiscal year 1997 funds in half, which would have forced 
180,000 women, infants, and children to be kicked off of the nutrition 
program.
  I join a lot of my colleagues today in breathing a sigh of relief 
now, although we hear that WIC has been replaced by education cuts.
  Under their new proposals there are several red flags. Under this 
Republican proposal, 86,000 children will be cut from Head Start, 
360,000 fewer students would be eligible for Pell grants for college or 
job training, and nearly 500,000 fewer children would have teachers to 
help them with basic math and reading skills.
  Congress has enacted a safeguard for our country's pregnant women and 
infants and children by not removing them from the WIC rolls. Now let 
us make sure they can also educate our children. Let us not only feed 
our children, but let us educate them.

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