Tom Harkin: “I am proud of our bipartisan work on the Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act of 2004 and want to thank the…”

“I am proud of our bipartisan work on the Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act of 2004 and want to thank the chairman for his efforts and leadership. This is a bill that deserves to pass overwhelmingly with tremendous bipartisan support, as it did in the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry. That it can gain the unanimous support of the entire Senate, as I believe that it will, is to me, a hopeful sign of broad support for initiatives in the interest of our Nation's children. In addition to Chairman Cochran, I thank the staff who have worked on this bill. They may never receive the full credit that they truly deserve, but without them this bill would not have come to fruition. On Senator Cochran's staff, I would like to thank Hunt Shipman, Eric Steiner, Graham Harper, and especially Dave Johnson, who has been with the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry for fifteen years. During that time, he has played a key role in strengthening our country's child nutrition and food assistance programs. On my own staff, I would like to single out for thanks the great work of Derek Miller and Susan Keith as well as the Democratic Staff Director, Mark Halverson, who has served me ably for many years. Given the budget constraints that our committee faced in crafting the legislation, I believe that this bill is a very positive step forward in allocating resources wisely.”