Providing for Consideration of H.R. 5973, Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2013; and Providing for Consideration of H.R. 5972, Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2013

Floor Speech

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Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to the rule and the underlying Agriculture-FDA appropriations bill.

It does not meet our responsibilities to the American people. This bill's allocation is $1.7 billion below the President's request. The lower allocation represents a breaking of the bipartisan agreement we made last August. It will have a dramatic impact on the fundamental American priorities embodied in this bill, especially in the critical areas of financial protection, nutrition, food safety, and antihunger programs.

I would like to submit this letter from the United

States Conference of Catholic Bishops for the Record, a letter that speaks out against the inadequate funding for nutrition and antihunger programs in this appropriations bill.

Nearly half of the babies born in the United States every year participate in the Women, Infants, and Children feeding program. It is a short-term intervention that can help provide a lifetime of good nutrition and health behaviors. And yet at a time of great need, the bill underfunds WIC by $119 million.

The Food and Drug Administration is the cornerstone of our food and product safety system, and yet this bill rescinds $47.7 million in previous funding and displaces the agency's vital mission: protecting the health of Americans at risk.

The bill cuts the Food for Peace program. Because of this cut, at least 6.6 million fewer hungry people around the globe will be fed. Already, 300 children perish every hour of every day because of hunger and related causes. Ronald Reagan correctly called Food for Peace ``an instrument of American compassion,'' and we should support it.

We know for a fact that the risky behavior in derivative markets that precipitated the 2008 financial meltdown is still happening. We've seen it with MF Global and J.P. Morgan. Americans want more accountability from Wall Street and less speculation erratically driving up oil prices. And yet, this bill funds the Commodity Futures Trading Commission at $25 million less than 2012 and the full $128 million--41 percent. This is quite simply setting the commission up for failure.

We have a lot of work to do to fix this bill. We must ensure that the fundamental priorities of the people that we represent--like preserving fair markets, improving nutrition, ensuring food and consumer safety--are upheld.

I urge my colleagues to oppose this rule.

I might add that in the State of Connecticut, in the Third Congressional District, one out of seven individuals is food insecure. What does food insecurity mean? It means they don't know where their next meal is coming from.

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Ms. DeLAURO. We have 49 million people in this Nation who are going to bed hungry every night in the richest country in the world. It is inconceivable that we would cut back on food and nutrition programs when the Nation is suffering from the most serious economic recession it is having, and that we would cut back on food stamps.

We have cut back on school breakfast programs, school lunch programs, The Emergency Food Assistance program, the Commodity Supplemental Food program. And while the richest people in this Nation are having three squares a day or better, let's get our priorities straight. Let's focus on the people that we have come here to represent. Oppose this rule and oppose this bill.

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