[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 75 (Thursday, June 15, 2000)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5236-S5237]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                       WIC FOR MILITARY FAMILIES

  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, the Department of Defense authorization 
bill that we will resume on Monday contains a ``buried gem.'' This is 
an amendment that several Senators from both sides of the aisle have 
been working on for some time. In addition, many members in the other 
body also have been very supportive of this effort in general.

[[Page S5237]]

  This ``buried gem'' is a provision that will allow military personnel 
and dependents stationed overseas to participate in a program very 
similar to the WIC--the Women, Infants and Children--nutrition program. 
The WIC program in this country has enjoyed full, bipartisan support 
for many years, and this new provision provides that our forces abroad 
will be entitled to benefit from a very similar program with 
eligibility calculated under very similar rules.
  The chairman of the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry 
Committee, Senator Lugar, and the ranking member, Senator Harkin, along 
with the chairman of the nutrition subcommittee, Senator Fitzgerald, 
worked together with me and other members of the Committee on this WIC 
in the military issue. We received valuable input on this recent 
amendment from the DOD and the military liaison offices, as well as 
from the Department of Agriculture. We are grateful for that 
assistance.
  I know that many of us worked together last year on this issue also. 
Last year, I introduced the bill, Strengthening Families in the 
Military Service Act of 1999 (S. 1162), which was designed to provide 
WIC benefits to military personnel and to certain civilian personnel, 
stationed overseas.
  In my floor statement on May 26 of last year, I noted that ``if it 
makes sense to allow those stationed in the United States to 
participate in WIC, it makes sense to allow those stationed overseas to 
have the important nutritional benefits of that program. Why should 
families lose their benefits when they are moved overseas?''
  A former staff person, Janet Breslin, who worked for me as Deputy 
Chief of Staff of the Senate Agriculture Committee and now is stationed 
in Japan with her husband, sent me a note saying:

       WIC can make all the difference to an at-risk baby or 
     pregnant mother. There is a specific need here in Okinawa. 
     Our young families make the long trip to Japan to represent 
     their country. They are separated from family and friends 
     back home. Because we have limited base housing, some are 
     forced to live off-base for months or a year. During this 
     time the family faces the high cost of living in Japan, 
     especially high utility fees and food costs. For many, huge 
     phone bills home put many families in a financial pinch.
       If these at-risk families were in the United States, they 
     would qualify for WIC, which would provide nutritious dairy 
     and other food products for the family. However, due to a 
     legal quirk, WIC is not available for Americans on overseas 
     military bases.
       This effort, by you and others, would help reduce the 
     pressure on these young families, improve the health of 
     mother and baby, and enhance the quality of life for 
     Americans serving their country halfway around the world.

  Janet perfectly summarized why we should provide WIC to our military 
personnel overseas.
  My bill, and the amendment included in the DOD bill, provide that the 
Secretary of Defense will administer such a program under rules similar 
to the WIC program administered by the Secretary of Agriculture within 
the United States.
  For 26 years the WIC program has provided nutritious foods to low-
income pregnant, post-partum and breast-feeding women, infants, and 
children who are judged to be at a nutritional risk.
  It has proven itself to be a great investment: For every dollar 
invested in the WIC program, an estimated $3 is saved in future medical 
expenses. WIC has helped to prevent low birth weight babies and 
associated risks such as developmental disabilities, birth defects, and 
other complications. Participation in the WIC program has also been 
linked to reductions in infant mortality.
  These same benefits should be provided overseas to military families 
who are serving our country, living miles from their homes on military 
bases in foreign lands, and whose nutritional health is at risk. If 
they were stationed within our borders, their diets would be 
supplemented by the WIC program, and they would receive vouchers or 
packages of healthy foods, such as fortified cereals and juices, high 
protein products, and other foods especially rich in needed minerals 
and vitamins.
  My staff has been in direct contact with military officials on this 
matter and they have expressed a strong desire for this reform. I know 
that many Vermonters stationed overseas want WIC benefits to be offered 
at their bases. We should not turn our backs on these Americans 
stationed abroad.
  My bill last year, and this amendment, disregard the value of in-kind 
housing assistance in calculating eligibility which increases the 
number of women, infants and children that can participate and makes 
the program similar to the program in the United States. This is the 
correct approach--let's not shortchange our service personnel stationed 
overseas.
  The average monthly food cost would be around $30 to $35 for each 
participant, based on Department of Defense estimates of the cost of an 
average WIC food package in military commissaries. As many as 40,000 to 
50,000 persons could be eligible for this program, but it is uncertain 
how many of those would apply. In the United States, 80 percent of 
those who are eligible actually apply.
  Administration costs--which include medical, health and nutrition 
assessments--are likely to be about $10 per month per participant. We 
know from experience that each dollar spent on WIC is a very wise 
investment, which is why I am very pleased that this amendment was 
accepted today.
  I want to thank several Senate staff members who have worked on this 
issue, including Ed Barron and Elizabeth Darrow on my staff, Dave 
Johnson and Carol Dubard with Chairman Lugar, Mark Halverson and Lowell 
Unger with Senator Harkin, and Terry Van Doren with Senator Fitzgerald. 
Joe Richardson of CRS was also very helpful, as he has been over the 
years.

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