[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 4]
[House]
[Pages 5279-5280]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                CELEBRATING THE 40TH ANNIVERSARY OF WIC

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from

[[Page 5280]]

Pennsylvania (Mr. Thompson) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, the Special Supplemental 
Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children--or WIC--is a short-
term intervention program designed to help ensure pregnant women and 
their children are able to meet healthy nutritional needs.
  WIC began in 1972 as a supplemental food pilot program aimed at 
improving the health of pregnant mothers, infants, and children in 
response to a growing concern of malnutrition among low-income 
families. By 1974, WIC was operating in 45 States and became a 
permanent program in 1975.
  WIC provides participants with monthly benefits redeemable for 
specific foods to supplement their diets, as well as related nutrition 
and health services. WIC provides quality nutrition education and 
services; breastfeeding promotion and education; a monthly food 
package; and access to maternal, prenatal, and pediatric healthcare 
services. WIC has served 8.3 million participants each month through 
10,000 clinics nationwide in 2014; 806,000 pregnant women; 592,000 
breastfeeding women; 575,000 postpartum women; 2 million infants; and 
4.3 million children.
  Mr. Speaker, numerous studies have shown that pregnant women who 
participate in WIC have longer pregnancies, leading to fewer premature 
births. They have fewer low and very low birth weight babies. They 
experience fewer fetal and infant deaths, and they seek prenatal care 
earlier in pregnancy and consume more of key nutrients, such as iron, 
protein, calcium, vitamins A and C.
  WIC has been addressing the nutrition and health needs of low-income 
families for more than 40 years. I rise today as chairman of the 
Agriculture Subcommittee on Nutrition but also as someone who knows 
firsthand how important WIC is for many Americans.
  In the early 1980s, when my wife, Penny, and I were just starting 
out, we were eligible for WIC based on our income. We used WIC to 
supplement our personal resources at the time to ensure that Penny, who 
was expecting our first son, was healthy. Back then, WIC truly helped 
us supplement what we needed after our personal resources and the 
family assistance and support came into play.
  Nutrition influences health at every stage of life. Good nutrition 
during pregnancy is especially important to support fetal development 
and protect mothers from pregnancy-related risks of gestational 
diabetes, excessive weight gain, hypertension, and iron deficiency 
anemia. Good nutrition in early childhood can promote development and 
foster healthy behaviors that may carry over into adulthood.
  Mr. Speaker, the facts are clear: WIC works. Let's ensure this 
program remains viable for generations to come. WIC truly provides a 
competitive edge that will give everyone a fair shot at life--a fair 
start in life, and the American people deserve no less.

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