Maurice Hinchey: “we live in a country where our agricultural production is so bountiful that it exceeds that which our people can…”

“we live in a country where our agricultural production is so bountiful that it exceeds that which our people can consume. We have excess agricultural production each and every year. At the same time, hundreds of thousands of people in our country go to bed hungry every night. Many of these people who are hungry are women who are carrying infants, pregnant women. Others are young mothers, their infants and children. This is a brutal paradox. And the brutality of it is made worse by the bill before us, because the bill before us would deprive, it is estimated, 50,000 people, young mothers, pregnant women, young children, infants, from the ability to participate in the women, infants and children program, which provides basic nutrition for those folks. The Obey amendment seeks to correct that brutal situation by restoring $24 million to the women, infants and children program so that some of those pregnant women, some of those young mothers, some of those infants, and some of those children will get proper nutrition. This is a reasonable thing to do.”