Lois Capps: “I rise to voice my very strong support of our Nation's maternal and child health programs. And I want to thank my…”

“I rise to voice my very strong support of our Nation's maternal and child health programs. And I want to thank my colleague from Illinois, Jan Schakowsky, for getting the idea that we come together around this topic today because of the implications that it has for the beautiful young woman and her child that you're picturing next to you that is a reminder to all of us that these are not numbers when we're talking about sequestration. They really have impacts in people's very lives. So it's an honor for me to follow our colleague, Rosa DeLauro from Connecticut, and also to have as part of your discussion Gwen Moore, a very eloquent spokesperson from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. So, really, this is very diverse in terms of regions of the country that are going to be impacted should we ever cross this threshold. But most of the public discussion we've had so far on this fiscal cliff, however it's described, that we face, the discussion has been about taxes, about who's going to pay what in taxes. But what has been so underreported and overlooked, which is why I'm so grateful to you for calling this out today for us, is the impacts that sequestration cuts would have on our economy, but especially on that vital element of our economy which is our most vulnerable in our society--our children. They're our future. They are not just statistics. They are real little people who cannot wait for services because their bodies will change, their minds will be stunted.…”