[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 87 (Thursday, June 16, 2011)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1115-E1116]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   AGRICULTURE, RURAL DEVELOPMENT, FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION, AND 
               RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2012

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                           HON. RUSH D. HOLT

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, June 14, 2011

       The House in Committee of the Whole House on the State of 
     the Union had under consideration the bill (H.R. 2112) making 
     appropriations for Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and 
     Drug Administration, and Related Agencies programs for the 
     fiscal year ending September 30, 2012, and for other 
     purposes:

  Mr. HOLT. Madam Chair, I rise in strong opposition to H.R. 2112, the 
Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and 
Related Agencies Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year 2012. This bill 
ignores the plight of hundreds of thousands of women and children who 
struggle to obtain nutritious food in neighborhoods across America. The 
measure originally put forward by the Republican majority proposed $833 
million in cuts to the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for 
Women, Infants, and Children, commonly known as WIC. This program 
provides assistance to new mothers, babies, and children under five who 
have been identified as nutritionally at risk. In any decent society, 
this is the most basic obligation we have to our fellow citizens. Yet 
the funding level proposed by the majority would have left 400,000 to 
550,000 women and children without this aid.
  I am pleased that the Appropriations Committee adopted an amendment 
by my colleague, Representative DeLauro, to reinstate $147 million in 
WIC funding. Even with this restoration, however, between 200,000 and 
350,000 low-income women and children around the country would be 
dropped from the program next year. In New Jersey, as many as 6,500 
citizens could lose this assistance.
  I would remind those who claim that we cannot afford the cost of this 
program that just one week of lost revenue from the Bush tax breaks for 
millionaires, which were extended over my objection, would more than 
fill the gap in funding for this program to ensure that every mother 
and child has access to healthy

[[Page E1116]]

meals. On average, nationwide, we are talking about just 57 dollars per 
month for nearly 10 million mothers and infants who cannot afford 
nutritious foods. Almost one-half of the children born in our country 
rely on WIC. Many of these enter the Medicaid program, and experience 
has shown that the nutritional benefit to pregnant women results in up 
to $4.20 in Medicaid savings for each dollar spent through WIC. 
Restoring full funding for this program is the smart thing to do for 
our budget, just as it is the right thing to do for our citizens.
  Women and infants are not the only vulnerable population put at 
greater risk of food insecurity by this bill. The 22 percent cut to the 
Commodity Supplemental Food Program will prevent at least 130,000 low-
income seniors from receiving desperately needed food packages. The 23 
percent reduction to the Emergency Food Assistance Program will leave 
empty shelves at our local food banks, pantries, faith-based 
organizations, soup kitchens, and shelters. With food prices continuing 
to rise sharply and Americans continuing to struggle to get ahead in a 
tough economy, now is not the time to remove the critical safety net 
provided by these food assistance programs. In addition, food aid for 
1.1 million people around the world will be unavailable as a result of 
the $476 million cut to the Food for Peace international humanitarian 
program and the McGovern-Dole program, which provides for the donation 
of U.S. agriculture goods to school feeding initiatives around the 
world.
  Furthermore, the drastic reduction to the Commodity Futures Trading 
Commission budget will leave the U.S. economy and consumers in peril. 
The Commission will not have the resources necessary to prevent the big 
banks from making the kinds of speculative bets that led to the recent 
financial crisis. And as gas prices continue to strain household and 
small business budgets, this bill will do nothing to help the 
Commission go after excessive speculation in oil markets--even though 
recent data suggest that nearly 90 percent of those trading in the oil 
markets are speculators, not legitimate users of oil. These speculators 
are driving up the price of petroleum and gasoline, and without an 
effective CFTC with adequate funding, consumers and taxpayers are the 
losers.
  This bill also includes severe funding cuts for the USDA's Food 
Safety and Inspection Service and the Food and Drug Administration, 
FDA, which will undermine food safety in America and weaken efforts to 
ensure that medical products and new drugs are safe and accessible. It 
underfunds research programs to improve food production, safety, and 
quality as well as initiatives designed to advance organic farming and 
related markets. And it eliminates almost one billion dollars in 
conservation programs to protect soil and farmland, maintain healthy 
agriculture in rural America, preserve key resources, and restore 
wildlife habitat that supports associated recreational and economic 
opportunities.
  Mr. Speaker, the Agriculture Appropriations bill before us today is 
one more step in the wrong direction for the Nation's budget, our 
economy, and our people. It leaves vulnerable low-income women, 
infants, children, and seniors to fend for themselves even though we 
know that good nutrition improves health and saves money in the long 
run. It allows Wall Street speculation to continue unchecked, 
threatening our economy and driving up gas prices. It says that we 
should ignore the needs of our faith- and community-based food service 
organizations as well as those of hungry children and impoverished 
people around the world. And it leaves us all at greater risk of 
encountering food-borne illnesses, sets back research programs, and 
ignores our conservation needs. The American people expect more of 
their government, and I urge my colleagues to oppose this deeply flawed 
bill.

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