[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 63 (Tuesday, May 4, 1999)]
[House]
[Pages H2558-H2559]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            MARKING THE 25TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE WIC PROGRAM

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Radanovich). Under the Speaker's 
announced policy of January 19, 1999, the gentleman from Texas (Mr. 
Stenholm) is recognized during morning hour debates for 2 minutes.
  Mr. STENHOLM. Mr. Speaker, it is a pleasure today to rise to mark the 
25th anniversary of the WIC program, the women, infants and children. I 
am proud to join my colleagues in support of this very valuable and 
extremely successful program.
  Several years ago when I served on the Committee on the Budget I had 
the opportunity to hear several CEOs of Fortune 500 companies testify 
in support of the WIC program. These executives talked about the 
difficulties they had in finding a qualified work force and the amount 
of money they had to spend to educate and retrain their employees.
  They told us that while improving our educational system was an 
important part of the solution, our educational system can only do so 
much if

[[Page H2559]]

the child is not prepared to learn by the time they reach school age.
  These executives came to the conclusion that in order to find 
solutions to the problems they were facing and other problems facing 
society, we had to begin at the beginning and make sure children start 
out their lives with the nutrition they need to develop.
  That conclusion is what brought these CEOs to the Committee on the 
Budget, and it is what brings me to the floor today. We continue to 
learn more each day about the importance of the first 3 years of life 
in the development of the brain. Common sense tells us that ensuring 
that children have proper nutrition at this critical period in their 
lives will reap benefits for all of us as these children grow into 
adulthood.
  A child who has the proper nutrition at the beginning of his or her 
life in the womb through the first 3 years of its life is more likely 
to succeed in school, less likely to become involved in the criminal 
justice system, and more likely to become a productive member of 
society.
  There have been numerous studies showing the effectiveness of the WIC 
program in improving health of newborn children. From a fiscal 
standpoint, studies have found that Medicaid costs for women and 
children participating in WIC were reduced by between $1.77 and $3.13 
for every dollar spent on WIC.
  But more important than any of these statistics or studies about the 
effectiveness of the WIC program is this: The WIC program helps give 
all children a fair start in life. That is why I am proud to support 
the WIC program, and encourage our colleagues to continue to support 
and expand upon this very valuable program.

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