[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 8]
[House]
[Page 11051]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                 FEDERAL FUNDING FOR THE MIECHV PROGRAM

  (Ms. PLASKETT asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. PLASKETT. Mr. Speaker, Federal funding for the Maternal, Infant, 
and Early Childhood Home Visiting Program is set to expire September 
30. This program in the Virgin Islands Department of Health gives at-
risk pregnant women and families necessary information, resources, and 
skills to raise children who are physically, socially, and emotionally 
healthy and ready to learn.
  In June, Republicans in the House of Representatives' Ways and Means 
Committee introduced a bill reauthorizing this program. The 
legislation, which has yet to receive a hearing, included a 5-year 
reauthorization, but did not expand funding to meet the growing needs 
for services. It also included serious modifications to the way the 
program is run, which advocates fear could have harmful unintended 
consequences.
  Home visiting programs are a critical opportunity to reach at-risk 
pregnant women and new mothers. The first few years of life are the 
most rapid period of brain development, and home visiting programs 
provide support to vulnerable families in the earliest stages of their 
child's life. Home visiting programs establish a solid foundation by 
partnering with families to support maternal and newborn health and 
parent engagement.
  I would like to express my support for the reauthorization and 
expansion of this program, and I encourage my colleagues to do the 
same.

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