Sam Gejdenson: “I will be very brief at this point and just close by saying that, in following up on what my colleague from Maryland…”

“I will be very brief at this point and just close by saying that, in following up on what my colleague from Maryland said, that what we do here is very important. Our responsibility here is to fight for the men and women back in our districts, many of whom are still going through very difficult times around the country, whether it is floods in one part of the country, or in my part still recovering from the economic pressures of the end of the cold war and reduced defense spending, trying to get through the change from defense to nondefense economic activities. We do have a serious responsibility here, and I cannot help but be reminded by again what the gentleman from Maryland said: My parents left the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany to come to this country because of its Democratic institutions. While we have substantial differences on what we ought to do, new evidence... indicates how incredibly important nutrition and other health activities are in those first several years of life. Those fights are terribly important fights, and while we disagree with them on many of these issues on the other side of the aisle, it is not their honor we question.”