Rick Allen: “I appeal this morning to my Republican colleagues to choose for children. I urge them to restore the $38 million their…”

“I appeal this morning to my Republican colleagues to choose for children. I urge them to restore the $38 million their leaders cut from the President's supplemental appropriation request for the Women, Infants and Children Program and, as we move forward in the budget process, to support full funding for WIC. WIC pays for milk, cereal, and formula, basics that we know reduce low birth weight, infant mortality, and child anemia. The GAO says that every dollar invested in WIC's prenatal program saves $3.50 in Medicaid spending. That is why AT&T's CEO Robert Allen calls WIC 'the health care equivalent of a Triple-A investment.' Mr. Speaker, when it comes to the budget, our job is to make choices. Republican leaders have chosen to cut 180,000 mothers and children from the WIC Program. I urge the Republican rank-and-file to join the Democrats. Choose for children, invest in the mothers and their children who benefit from the WIC Program. It is the right choice for children. It is the right choice for families. It is the right choice for America.”