Eva M. Clayton: “there is much talk in this House about this being a family-friendly Congress. What constitutes a family-friendly…”

“there is much talk in this House about this being a family-friendly Congress. What constitutes a family-friendly Congress. Is it just that we are given a schedule which allows us time to spend with our families? This of course is very important to all of us. But as leaders we have the responsibility of also being friendly to the families which we represent. In being friendly to these families, we should be able to ensure them that they will be given the option of meeting their basic needs--such as clean water to drink, fresh air to breathe, and food to eat. During the recent debates on the unfunded mandates, we have discussed in great detail the clean water and fresh air issues. It is now time to focus our attention on nutrition. I believe that we have come to a consensus on both sides of the aisle that our current welfare system needs major reform. But reform should be directed at moving people out of poverty--not into poverty. The President said on last evening, we need a lean but not mean government. It should not mean cutting nutrition programs which are essential to the well-being of million of our citizens--the disadvantaged, our children, our elderly and the disabled. These are the groups of people who in many instances cannot fend for themselves and need assistance for their basic existence.…”