[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 38 (Wednesday, March 10, 1999)]
[House]
[Pages H1139-H1140]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           HUNGER IN AMERICA

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlelady from North Carolina (Mrs. Clayton) is recognized for 5 
minutes.
  Mrs. CLAYTON. Mr. Speaker, the Senate has proposed that the emergency 
supplement appropriation bill, a bill to help those ravaged by storm in 
Central America, be offset by hurting those ravaged by hunger in North 
America. This proposal, inappropriately so, requires offset from the 
food stamps to pay for it. This proposal fails to recognize a hunger in 
America is more than just a word. It is a harsh and cruel reality that 
affects millions and millions of Americans, including children.
  According to the Catholic charities, the demand for emergency food 
assistance increased by 26 percent in the first half of 1998. The 
United States Department of Agriculture and the Census Bureau report 
that one in eight families in America remain on the edge of hunger. We 
are in an economic boom, but many working people, their families, their 
children, far too many, face a food crisis and a hunger burst. Indeed 
the U.S. Conference of Mayors tells us that close to 40 percent of 
those seeking food aid in 1997 were members of families where at least 
one person in the household was working.
  That is why I support allowing participants in the Food Stamp Program 
to own a reliable car. Under the current law, food stamp participants 
cannot own a car valued at more than $4650. This limit in the law 
discourages progress and promotes poverty. A reliable car is essential 
for daily necessity, but more importantly, this is essential for 
getting to work. It is important, lifting the artificial cap on rent, 
mortgage payments and utility bills that are used in calculating food 
allowance for food, also indeed is addressed. Nearly a million 
households, the vast majority of which include children, receive low 
food allowance because a cap on their housing expense is there.
  In addition, the food stamp program should be available to all legal 
immigrants, including elderly legal immigrants, especially those that 
were in the country before the welfare reform was enacted, and the WIC 
program should be fully funded so that the nearly 10 million women, 
infants and children who are now eligible can be covered by this vital 
program. Children Nutrition, the School Lunch Program, is very, very 
important.
  It seems to me that if there is any Federal program that has worked 
consistently throughout the years and has stood the test of time, it is 
our National School Lunch Program. Nearly 26 million children are 
served every day. Through this program children have a healthy meal, a 
healthy start so they can be alert in school, thereby giving them a 
chance, a chance for a change, a chance for improvement in their lives.

                              {time}  1930

  One does not have to be a rocket scientist to know that a child needs 
to eat to function. To educate our workforce, we must have a good 
school system and good teachers. That is why I believe we should fully 
fund the school breakfast program authorized in the 1998 child 
nutrition authorization program.
  Whether this Congress will make the substantial and significant 
investment

[[Page H1140]]

in the school breakfast program is yet to be seen. The debate over how 
to use this Nation's resources now, fortunately centers around what we 
do with the surplus.
  Now that the deficit has been eliminated, we want to use our 
resources to help people, especially our children.
  I urge my colleagues in the House to reject the Senate proposal to 
help those in Central America by hurting those in North America.
  Everyday, twenty-six million children are served.
  When a child has breakfast, that child is going to be more attentive, 
more alert, and his grades will improve.
  When a child has breakfast, he will not have to visit the school 
nurse or the school principal for discipline as often.
  It doesn't take much to understand that.
  If America is to be competitive in the world market, we must educate 
our workforce.
  But, good teachers can only be effective if our children are fed and 
not hungry in the classroom.
  As you know, the President, in his budget, has requested Thirteen 
million for Fiscal Year 2000 for the School Breakfast Pilot Program.
  It is very important that we fight for these funds. We must not take 
them for granted. School breakfast is not a welfare program. It is an 
education program. School breakfast is not charity. It is a chance for 
our children
  Thirteen million dollars is a modest amount. But, for the children 
who will eat, it is an amount that will have a major impact. It seems 
strange that we must fight for food for those who can not fight for 
themselves. America is a strong Nation, and we are strong because we 
can provide quality food at affordable prices. There are many places in 
the World where the same can not be said.
  But the real strength of America is not due to our advanced 
technology, our economic base or our military might.
  The real strength of America is its compassion for people, those who 
live in the shadows of life.
  The real strength of this Nation is its compassion for the poor, the 
weak, the frail, the disabled, our seniors, our children--the hungry.
  America's compassion makes us strong.
  It really is time to stop picking on the poor.
  Less than three percent of America's Budget is targeted for feeding 
the hungry. Nutrition programs are essential to the well-being of 
millions of our children. They do not ask much. Just a little help to 
sustain them through the day. Nutrition programs, in many cases, 
provide the only nutritious food that millions of our Nation's children 
receive on a daily basis.

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