Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2012

Floor Speech

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Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia. Madam Chair, I rise to point out that once again we find ourselves in a familiar situation. Once again, under the guise of fiscal responsibility, austerity, and a blind allegiance to supply-side voodoo economics gimmicks, Republicans have brought forth another effort to cut away the social safety net, this time kicking low-income mothers and their young children into the depths of hunger and food insecurity.

It's like deja vu. Just months ago, Democrats defended the American people from the Ryan Republican plan to turn Medicare into a voucher program. Unfortunately, the plan to get rid of Medicare was passed with the unanimous support of every single Republican in the House. Now, here we stand once again trying to prevent Republicans from delivering a swift kick to the stomachs of low-income mothers, many of whom are already struggling to get by during this economic downturn.

Reducing WIC funding by more than half a billion dollars in the name of deficit reduction while unanimously refusing to eliminate or even decrease tax cuts for big businesses, oil companies and wealthy individuals, Republicans have forgotten one of mankind's most basic human values: upholding our moral responsibilities to our fellow man.

Recently, I received a gift from the House Members Bible study group, and I do appreciate it. My heart compelled me to open it today. When I turned the pages separated by the book divider, I was at Mark 6:33, and nothing could have been more appropriate for the day. It was the passage on Jesus feeding his followers.

Just as Jesus walked with his disciples, preaching the Gospel and healing the sick, he also fed 5,000 of his followers who would have gone hungry without those five loaves of bread and two fish.

If Jesus can feed 5,000 people with five loaves of bread and two fish, then surely America, the wealthiest Nation in the world, and surely this Congress, the greatest deliberative body in the world, should continue to provide for Americans in their time of need.

Just as Jesus provided for his followers, He also broke with tradition and compassionately watched as His followers ate bread with impure hands--as they were called--unclean hands. This upset some of those righteous observers, and they asked Jesus, ``Why do your disciples not wash according to the tradition of the elders, but eat their bread with impure hands?'' Jesus called them hypocrites and then He said, ``Neglecting the commandment of God, you hold to the tradition of men.'' Is that what we're doing here today? Does the man-made rule of reducing our country's debt trump our moral responsibility to provide for Americans in their time of need?

We as Members of Congress must also feed the hungry among us. Isn't this our moral and civic duty? According to the USDA, 750,000 of our fellow citizens, women and children, could be turned away from WIC. This is unconscionable. And the result is crystal clear--more Americans will be left to fend for themselves in their time of need.

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Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia. Meanwhile, the $800 million that we give away on one week of tax breaks for millionaires and billionaires, we could ensure, with that $800 million, that over 9 million WIC participants receive nutrition, education, food and services for an entire year.

America is better than this. Don't hurt the women and the children who need help. I stand opposed to this bill.

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Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia. Mr. Chairman, how many times will Republicans attempt to rob innocent Americans of their health and their wellness? First, they morally bankrupted themselves when they took a hatchet, or I should say a scythe--that's that thing that the Grim Reaper walks with--they took a scythe to Medicare in the Ryan budget, attempting to increase the health care cost to seniors, and passed it unanimously, unanimous Republican support for the Ryan ``Grim Reaper'' budget plan that cut Medicare. It really destroyed Medicare as we know it and replaced it with a voucher system. That's what they have passed in this House.

And now the Grim Reaper is coming again, not to cut tax cuts to the rich, not to cut tax subsidies to big oil companies. The Grim Reaper is not here to cut from wealthy individuals all of the tax breaks that they have been getting. No, the Grim Reaper is here to cut something that is fundamental to life, and that is money for food for human beings. The Grim Reaper, moving slowly, not bouncing at all, just creeping through the night with his scythe, ready to cut the WIC program.

I'm opposed to any effort to remove funding for nutrition assistance for women and children, leaving them to go hungry in the streets. During these difficult times, soup kitchens, pantry shelters, churches, nonprofits, including many in my district, they have reached their limits in terms of the assistance that they can give to those who need it.

Mr. Chairman, the budget brought to the floor today will lead to a drastic multimillion-dollar shortfall for the WIC program, not only resulting in more individuals going hungry, but placing additional strain on many aid agencies who have already reached the end of their rope.

This week, I have spoken to pastors, rabbis, and faith-based leaders of all stripes and haven't heard a single one of them express support for reducing nutrition assistance. In fact, many of them today right now are roaming the halls of Congress speaking to anyone who cares to listen to express their opposition to this bill. They are desperate, desperate to talk about the effects of these drastic cuts.

I came down to the well of the House earlier today to speak about Republican efforts to take food out of the mouths of mothers and children across the country. Today, with the help of this bill, this Congress will accomplish something that has not been done in 14 years. Today, it looks like this Congress, as the Grim Reaper, will pass a bill that doesn't provide enough money to serve all WIC participants. Instead, we will pass a bill that forces vulnerable families to depend completely on the same food banks that have run out of food while we continue to subsidize tax breaks for millionaires, billionaires, and Big Oil. The Grim Reaper is not coming for them, doesn't want to bother them.

I can't, in good conscience, support this effort of the Grim Reapers to rob low-income Americans of basic necessities like food while giving millions to those who no longer need our assistance. In a Nation as great as the United States, we should not be promoting corporate welfare while taking food out of the mouths of hungry children.

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