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“HUNGER IN AMERICA” mentioning the U.S. Dept of Agriculture was published in the House of Representatives section on pages H1139-H1140 on March 10, 1999.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
HUNGER IN AMERICA
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the gentlelady from North Carolina (Mrs. Clayton) is recognized for 5 minutes.
Mrs. CLAYTON. Mr. Speaker, the Senate has proposed that the emergency supplement appropriation bill, a bill to help those ravaged by storm in Central America, be offset by hurting those ravaged by hunger in North America. This proposal, inappropriately so, requires offset from the food stamps to pay for it. This proposal fails to recognize a hunger in America is more than just a word. It is a harsh and cruel reality that affects millions and millions of Americans, including children.
According to the Catholic charities, the demand for emergency food assistance increased by 26 percent in the first half of 1998. The United States Department of Agriculture and the Census Bureau report that one in eight families in America remain on the edge of hunger. We are in an economic boom, but many working people, their families, their children, far too many, face a food crisis and a hunger burst. Indeed the U.S. Conference of Mayors tells us that close to 40 percent of those seeking food aid in 1997 were members of families where at least one person in the household was working.
That is why I support allowing participants in the Food Stamp Program to own a reliable car. Under the current law, food stamp participants cannot own a car valued at more than $4650. This limit in the law discourages progress and promotes poverty. A reliable car is essential for daily necessity, but more importantly, this is essential for getting to work. It is important, lifting the artificial cap on rent, mortgage payments and utility bills that are used in calculating food allowance for food, also indeed is addressed. Nearly a million households, the vast majority of which include children, receive low food allowance because a cap on their housing expense is there.
In addition, the food stamp program should be available to all legal immigrants, including elderly legal immigrants, especially those that were in the country before the welfare reform was enacted, and the WIC program should be fully funded so that the nearly 10 million women, infants and children who are now eligible can be covered by this vital program. Children Nutrition, the School Lunch Program, is very, very important.
It seems to me that if there is any Federal program that has worked consistently throughout the years and has stood the test of time, it is our National School Lunch Program. Nearly 26 million children are served every day. Through this program children have a healthy meal, a healthy start so they can be alert in school, thereby giving them a chance, a chance for a change, a chance for improvement in their lives.
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One does not have to be a rocket scientist to know that a child needs to eat to function. To educate our workforce, we must have a good school system and good teachers. That is why I believe we should fully fund the school breakfast program authorized in the 1998 child nutrition authorization program.
Whether this Congress will make the substantial and significant investment in the school breakfast program is yet to be seen. The debate over how to use this Nation's resources now, fortunately centers around what we do with the surplus.
Now that the deficit has been eliminated, we want to use our resources to help people, especially our children.
I urge my colleagues in the House to reject the Senate proposal to help those in Central America by hurting those in North America.
Everyday, twenty-six million children are served.
When a child has breakfast, that child is going to be more attentive, more alert, and his grades will improve.
When a child has breakfast, he will not have to visit the school nurse or the school principal for discipline as often.
It doesn't take much to understand that.
If America is to be competitive in the world market, we must educate our workforce.
But, good teachers can only be effective if our children are fed and not hungry in the classroom.
As you know, the President, in his budget, has requested Thirteen million for Fiscal Year 2000 for the School Breakfast Pilot Program.
It is very important that we fight for these funds. We must not take them for granted. School breakfast is not a welfare program. It is an education program. School breakfast is not charity. It is a chance for our children
Thirteen million dollars is a modest amount. But, for the children who will eat, it is an amount that will have a major impact. It seems strange that we must fight for food for those who can not fight for themselves. America is a strong Nation, and we are strong because we can provide quality food at affordable prices. There are many places in the World where the same can not be said.
But the real strength of America is not due to our advanced technology, our economic base or our military might.
The real strength of America is its compassion for people, those who live in the shadows of life.
The real strength of this Nation is its compassion for the poor, the weak, the frail, the disabled, our seniors, our children--the hungry.
America's compassion makes us strong.
It really is time to stop picking on the poor.
Less than three percent of America's Budget is targeted for feeding the hungry. Nutrition programs are essential to the well-being of millions of our children. They do not ask much. Just a little help to sustain them through the day. Nutrition programs, in many cases, provide the only nutritious food that millions of our Nation's children receive on a daily basis.
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