Date: 2013-10-04
Speaker: JACKSON LEE (democrat)
Chamber: H

Madam Speaker. I rise today to speak on H.J. Res. 75. a piecemeal miniCR." which woefully underfunds WomenInfantChildren Program. or WIC as it is known through the end of the year. Notwithstanding the issue of the majority refusing to allow a vote on a clean continuous resolution. and dealing with the deficit and the majoritys refusal to accept Obamacarewhich must be addressedwe cannot stop investing in children because they are the future of our country. WIC is a federal assistance program for health care and nutrition of lowincome pregnant women. breastfeeding women. and infants and children under the age of 5. In my congressional district. 67 percent of children under the age of 4. or 41.300. are eligible for WIC. This is the ninth highest district in the country. Indeed. in a story in Houston Chronicle. a young Houston mother posed a very relevant question. She asked. "How am I going to feed my children?" Has it come to this Mr. Speaker? A mother in the United States of America has to worry about her children going hungry. This is an outrage. In fact. in my state of Texas there are 971.000 WIC eligible children. the 7th highest in the nation. Madam Speaker. you might be interested to know that the top 10 states in terms of WIC eligible women and children are: Rank State % WliC Number Eligible 1 . ................ M ississippi ............................... 54 115 .600 2 . ................ A rkansas .................................. 53 103.00 3 New Mexico .............................. 52 74.900 4 . ................ klahom a ................................. 5 1 132.100 5 . ................ W est Virginia ........................... 50 52.000 6 . ................ Louisia na ................................. 50 143 .600 7 . ................ Texas ........................................ 49 9 7 1.000 3 . ......... Tennessee ................................ 43 196.700 9 . ................ Kentucky .................................. 47 132.000 10 . .............. South Carolina ......................... 47 138.800 The Agriculture Department. which funds WIC. released $100 million in contingency funds. out of the $125 million on hand when the budget impasse began. and is working with states to distribute about $280 million in unexpended funds left over from the 2013 fiscal year. According to USDA. with these funds states should be able to continue to supply new and existing WIC participants only through the end of October. Madam Speaker. you will be as disappointed as I was to learn that When I attempted to access more uptodate statistics on the WIC Program. SNAP. and hunger. I was greeted by a message that said: "Due to the lapse in federal government funding. this website is not available." The National WIC Association does not support this dishonest attempt by House Republicans to extricate themselves from the mess they created when they recklessly voted to shut down the government and harm our economy and wreak havoc on the lives of millions of Americans who provide and depend upon services and benefits critical to our nation. According to the National WIC Association opposes this bill because it is "a cynical ploy to use lowincome nutritionally atrisk mothers and young children as political pawns for political ends" and urges Congress: to end the uncertainty that exists in our fiscal environment and the already challenged lives of vulnerable mothers and young children by responsibly discharging and fulfilling its moral obligations to the nation. We will not tolerate efforts to leverage the nutritional health and wellbeing of pregnant and breastfeeding mothers. their babies. and young children to satisfy the political ends or strategies of policymakers. Madam Speaker. if Congress fails to pass a "clean" continuing resolution before months end. many WIC Programs across the nation will run out of operating funds and clinics will be forced to close their doors. turn participants away. and end benefits. This would be unconscionable. Normally I would be pleased to be here today to talk about the funding for this program. but this is different. What the majority is doing is playing games with the lives of real peoplereal mothers and their childrenstruggling to get by in the real world. WIC is the nations premiere preventive public health nutrition program targeted at lowincome mothers and young children who have or are at risk for developing nutritionrelated diseases and disorders. Serving nearly 9 million mothers and young children. including 53 percent of all infants in the country. WIC provides nutrition education. breastfeeding education and support. referrals to medical and social services and a small nutritious food package. Numerous studies show that WIC has been effective in improving health outcomes for its target populations. For example. every dollar spent on a pregnant woman in WIC saves up to $4.21 in Medicaid costs for her and her newborn because WIC reduces the risk for preterm birth and low birthweight babies by 25 percent and 44 percent. respectively. The average first year medical cost for a premature or low birthweight baby is $49.033 compared to $4.551 for a baby born without complications. Children on WIC are also more likely to consume key nutrients. receive immunizations on time. and have high cognitive development scores than their peers not participating in WIC. Recent studies in Los Angeles County and New York State have documented a reduction in obesity rates in the WIC child population over the past several years. In light of these successes. it is no wonder that recent surveys indicate that WIC retains broad support across political. ideological. ethnic. and socioeconomic lines in America. A bipartisan national survey of 1.000 likely November 2012 voters indicated nearly 3 in 4 Americans want WIC funding to remain the same or increase. Because of increase emphasis by Congress and the WIC program. between 1998 and 2010 the breastfeeding rate in WIC has risen from 41.3 percent to 63.1 percent. According to one estimate. if 90 percent of U.S. mothers exclusively breastfed their infants to 6 months. the U.S. would save $13 billion per year in medical expenses and prevent over 900 deaths annually. Inadequate funding will have shortterm and longterm consequences. In the shortterm. mothers and young children cut from the program may go without healthy food or enough food. In the longterm. healthy childhood growth and development may be hampered resulting in health and development problems that will have lifelong physical. mental. and financial costs. A full funding level for the WIC program would ensure that no eligible applicants are turned away. maintain current and anticipated WIC participation levels. assure adequate nutrition services and administration funding. respond adequately to economic forecasts of rising food cost inflation. and provide funds for nutrition services to maintain clinic staffing and competitive salaries. For these reasons. we should be working to pass H.J. Res. 59 as amended by the Senate. That is the best way to keep faith with all persons who serve the American people as employees of the federal government. and the women and children who depend upon the WIC program. USDA Due to the lapse in federal government funding. this website is not available. After funding has been restored. please allow some time for this website to become available again. For information about available government services. visit usa.gov To view U.S. Department of Agriculture Agency Contingency plans. visit: http:/ www.whitehouse.gov/omb/contingencyplans Message from the President to U.S. Government Employees [From the Huffington Post. Oct. 4. 2013]