José E. Serrano: “I rise in defense of, surely, the most vulnerable sector of our society: women, infants, and children. And, I rise in…”

“I rise in defense of, surely, the most vulnerable sector of our society: women, infants, and children. And, I rise in strong support of restoring the funding request of $76 million to the Special Supplemental Food Program for Women, Infants, and Children; known as WIC. I am deeply concerned with, and I did not support, the decision of the Appropriations Committee to cut the funds requested for the WIC Program in the fiscal year 1997 supplemental appropriations bill. By slicing in half the $76 million in funding needed to avert participation reductions of approximately 360,000 women, infants, and children, this bill will cause 180,000 eligible participants to be dropped from the rolls. I ask my colleagues to reconsider. This year in New York City, for the first time ever, the appropriation was less than the preceding year. Therefore, we began the fiscal year 1997 $6 million in the hole. According to WIC Program directors in the Bronx, the impact of cuts to their budgets may be devastating. I do not understand how a Congress that seems eager to support tens of billions of tax cuts to many of the wealthiest individuals in America through large reductions in capital gains taxes and taxes on the very largest estates cannot find $38 million to prevent poor children from going without the nutritional supplements they so desperately need. I ask my colleagues to reconsider.”