End Hunger Now

Floor Speech

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Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, every day across America, millions of seniors take their medicines on an empty stomach. They are hungry, on a fixed income, can't drive--and their fridges, pocketbooks, and wallets are empty.

If they are lucky, they have people like Janice Pierce and Maggie Woodward in their corner.

Last week, I joined Janice and Maggie to deliver meals to seniors in Oakham, Massachusetts. They are one of thousands of Meals on Wheels chapters in America.

Experts tell us that seniors who are hungry are more likely to get sick and be admitted to the hospital.

Mr. Speaker, programs like Meals on Wheels aren't nice; they are a necessity. While they do good work, America's seniors shouldn't have to get lucky. Their health outcomes shouldn't be determined by whether heroes like Janice and Maggie live around the corner.

Congress needs to strengthen, not cut, programs like Meals on Wheels, as some of my Republican friends are proposing.

In the richest country in the history of the world, our seniors deserve no less.

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