Tom Harkin: “Just a small followup. I do not always agree with the President of the United States. These start-up and expansion…”

“Just a small followup. I do not always agree with the President of the United States. These start-up and expansion grants stand on their own merits, without regard to what is contained in the President's or any other welfare reform proposal. As the Senator from Pennsylvania says, this is kind of a modest program. But we did in 1994, as I said, make it permanent and modify it to include summer food start-up and expansion. We got the first of the new grants out last year. It is a modest program. It is not a big, overwhelming program. But it allows really the poorest schools to get the seed money. As I said, it is a one-time infusion of money. Let us say they have some sites they want to deliver meals to. They have a central kitchen and they want to delivery some meals to other sites. Maybe they do not have a vehicle to do it. Well, this program would help them get the vehicle that will be able to deliver those meals to other sites, let us say, around the area. So it is a one-time cost that will enable them to go ahead and have a breakfast program or a summer food program. It is needed.”