IV
103D CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. CON. RES. 233
Expressing the sense of the Congress that any health care reform legislation
passed by the Congress include guaranteed full funding for the special
supplemental food program for women, infants, and children (WIC) so
that all eligible women, infants, and children who apply could be served
by the end of fiscal year 1996 and full funding could be maintained
through fiscal year 2000, and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
MARCH 24, 1994
Mr. KILDEE (for himself and Mr. EMERSON) submitted the following concur-
rent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Education and
Labor
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
Expressing the sense of the Congress that any health care
reform legislation passed by the Congress include guar-
anteed full funding for the special supplemental food
program for women, infants, and children (WIC) so that
all eligible women, infants, and children who apply could
be served by the end of fiscal year 1996 and full funding
could be maintained through fiscal year 2000, and for
other purposes.
Whereas the special supplemental food program for women,
infants, and children (WIC) established under section 17
of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1786)
•HCON 233 IH
saves medical costs by preventing low birth weight, reduc-
ing anemia, and increasing immunizations;
Whereas a study conducted by the General Accounting Office
concluded that WIC reduces the incidence of very low
birth weight by 44 percent;
Whereas a 1993 study conducted by the Department of Agri-
culture found that the savings attributable to WIC in
1987 due to reducing very low birth weight ranged from
$2,300,000 in Florida to $4,500,000 in North Carolina
in medical assistance costs under title XIX of the Social
Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1396 et seq.);
Whereas a study released by the Secretary of Agriculture in
1991 demonstrated that for each dollar spent on a preg-
nant woman under the WIC program, the associated sav-
ings in medical assistance costs for avoided illnesses be-
ginning in the first 60 days after birth ranged from
$1.92 to $4.21 for newborns and mothers and from
$2.98 to $4.75 for newborns only;
Whereas a study conducted by the General Accounting Office
found that WIC benefits provided to all eligible pregnant
women would more than pay for themselves in 1 year and
would avert more than $1,000,000,000 in health-related
costs over an 18-year period;
Whereas the WIC program reduces iron deficiency anemia,
which affects nearly 25 percent of poor children in the
United States and is associated with impaired cognitive
development and increases in the risk of lead poisoning;
Whereas the WIC program reduces fetal death and infant
mortality;
•HCON 233 IH
Whereas the United States ranks below 20 other countries in
infant mortality rates and behind 73 other countries in
percentage of infants born at low birth weight;
Whereas the Tufts University Center on Hunger, Poverty,
and Nutrition Policy found that even short-term
undernutrition jeopardizes the physical health, brain de-
velopment, and cognitive functioning of young children;
Whereas 4- and 5-year olds whose mothers participated in
the WIC program during pregnancy demonstrate higher
vocabulary test scores, and children who participated in
the WIC program after the 1st birthday of the children
score higher on memory tests;
Whereas in 1991 corporate executive officers of 5 major cor-
porations testified at a congressional hearing about the
need to fully fund the WIC program by 1996 and con-
cluded that ‘‘each pregnant woman, infant, and child who
could benefit from WIC but is left out of the program
represents a potential drain on budgetary outlays in sub-
sequent years and on our Nation’s future economic
growth, not to mention a tragic loss in human potential’’;
Whereas more than 3,000,000 women, infants, and children
are eligible but are not currently served by the WIC pro-
gram; and
Whereas 1994 is the 20th anniversary of the WIC program:
Now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate
concurring),
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This resolution may be cited as the ‘‘A Child is Wait-
ing Resolution’’.
•HCON 233 IH
SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON FULL FUNDING FOR WIC
PROGRAM.
It is the sense of the Congress that—
(1) any health care reform legislation passed by
the Congress include guaranteed full funding for the
special supplemental food program for women, in-
fants, and children (WIC) established under section
17 of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C.
1786) so that all eligible women, infants, and chil-
dren who apply could be served by the end of fiscal
year 1996 and full funding could be maintained
through fiscal year 2000; and
(2) at least $3,564,000,000, should be made
available for fiscal year 1995 to move toward the full
funding goal described in paragraph (1).
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