Blake Moore: “Well, I thank you so much, my good friend from Illinois, Jan Schakowsky. You have always, even before your tenure as a…”

“Well, I thank you so much, my good friend from Illinois, Jan Schakowsky. You have always, even before your tenure as a Member of Congress, been an advocate for good, healthy, nutritious food. It really occurs to me that kids can't wait. It's not as if we malnourish them now, that somehow when the economy picks up, we can supply them with calcium and vitamin A and vitamin C, protein and iron that they need retrospectively and say: well, let's just pick up where we left off. Here's this pregnant woman who, if she can just manage to get that child into the world, by the time they are three or four, we'll back up and provide them with that nourishment. I can tell you that, Jan, you have for a long time been a shero in this. And so has my good friend, Rosa DeLauro from Connecticut, who will be joining us very soon as well. We've got to take a balanced approach to this deficit reduction. There is just no question that these programs, which serve women, infants, children, will lose if sequestration takes place as scheduled. We know that every year, millions of women and children depend on health, nutrition, and other services that are provided through their State and local public health departments because of Federal funding. These services not only include nutrition but well-child and well- mother checkups, basic immunizations, education on healthy eating and nutrition, and referrals, when appropriate, to programs like WIC, which help ensure a healthy start for women and children.…”