[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 101 (Friday, July 24, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1437]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




       CHILD NUTRITION AND WIC REAUTHORIZATION AMENDMENTS OF 1998

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                               speech of

                       HON. JOSEPH P. KENNEDY II

                            of massachusetts

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, July 20, 1998

  Mr. KENNEDY of Massachusetts. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong 
support of H.R. 3874, the Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act. 
This bill gives our states more opportunity to fight against a problem 
that plagues our nation even in these prosperous times--child hunger.
  This bill is linked to almost every issue we struggle with on this 
House floor. Every year, we discover stronger links between child 
nutrition and all the indicators of a child's future. Better nutrition 
means better learning, better test scores, better health, better 
discipline.
  But child hunger is alive and well in America. I've traveled all over 
my home state of Massachusetts hearing about how and why children go 
without adequate nutrition. And I've heard about the safety net that 
keeps many of our kids from going hungry--healthy meals at school, 
after school, and at summer feeding sites.
  We can protect our children from hunger. We can guarantee that every 
child has an opportunity to get good quality nutrition year round. This 
bill doesn't do everything I'd like, but it takes big steps in the 
right direction.
  This bill would allow more of our states to experiment with universal 
free breakfast. In districts that have tried free breakfast--in 
Philadelphia, Baltimore, and parts of Minnesota--more kids are showing 
up for breakfast, kids are doing better in school, and kids are 
behaving better.
  This bill allows more sites to participate in the summer feeding 
service, and makes it easier for the states to administer those 
programs. It allows more schools to use federal funds to serve meals at 
after-school programs. And it allows teenage children to get free 
after-school snacks in low-income communities.
  Mr. Speaker, this bill not only provides more meals for more 
children, but it makes it easier for the states to use federal money in 
their own efforts to fight child hunger. I strongly urge my colleagues 
to support this bill.

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