OFFICIALS LEGISLATION INTEREST GROUPS PUBLIC STATEMENTS COMMITTEES VETOES

Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children Continuing Appropriations Resolution, 2014

Floor Speech

Date: Oct. 4, 2013
Location: Washington, DC
Issues: Unemployed and Low-Income Women Minors and Children Entitlements and the Safety Net Government Operations Government Budget and Spending

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Ms. DeLAURO. Madam Speaker, I rise in opposition to this cruel political game the majority is playing this afternoon. Since they took office, this Republican majority has repeatedly tried to slash the women, infants, and children feeding program--2011, 2012, 2013.

I sit on the Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee. This past summer, on a party-line vote, the Republican members on the committee who have just gotten up to speak to you voted to slash the WIC program and take nutritious food from over 200,000 pregnant mothers and infants. I introduced an amendment to restore this critical funding, and the Republican majority shut it down.

When it mattered, when we all voted, the Republican majority cut this funding. And now they're trying to use low-income families for a political message. This is disingenuous, this is duplicitous, and it is shameful.

Last month, on a party-line vote, they took food stamps from over 4 million low-income families, seniors, veterans, and children.

Are we meant to believe that today they have come to Jesus?

Or is it just politics?

I have strongly supported the Women, Infants and Children feeding program my entire career; and when I served as chair of the Ag Appropriations Subcommittee, the Democrats funded WIC at record levels, expanded it as the need arose during a recession.

We are talking about people's lives. This majority chose to shut the government down, and families all across this country are being affected. Furloughed workers, small businesses, and families cannot get loans. Biomedical and scientific research has stopped.

Food safety, food banks, flu tracking, Federal economic reports, immunizations--they have been stopped because of what the Republican majority is doing here.

The gamesmanship is heartless; it's offensive. The government has been shut down now for 4 days.

Do not use hungry families as political pawns. It's time to stop these bills, fund the government, reopen it. And I urge my colleagues to oppose this resolution.

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