Release No. 0151.99

Remarks
As Prepared for Delivery
by
Secretary of Agriculture Dan Glickman
National Association of WIC Directors
New Orleans, Louisiana - April 6, 1999

"Thank you Doug (Greenaway). I want to salute Malinda Newport for her service to your organization this past year, and I want to congratulate Don Johnson. Malinda, your tenure comes to a close at a time when we can look back with great admiration at WIC's 25 year record of helping pregnant women, infants, and children. While Don your tenure comes at a time when we can look
forward to building on WIC's great success. And at a time when we hope to see one of President Clinton's most cherished campaign promises finally become a reality full participation for WIC..

"With me from USDA is Shirley Watkins, Under Secretary for Food, Nutrition and Consumer Services who does a terrific job making sure the federal food safety net is strong and wide.

"Thank you for inviting me to share in your 25th anniversary celebration. And you do have a lot to celebrate. I know that some of you in this room have been with the program from the very start, and I suspect that your relationship with WIC feels a little bit like a long marriage. I am reminded of the woman who said on her 25th anniversary: "I've been married so long, I'm on my third bottle of Tabasco sauce." Now, I'm not sure that the folks from spicy New Orleans will understand the concept of only using 3 bottles of Tabasco sauce in 25 years, but it hits home for the rest of us.

"Now we all know the old saying, "The proof is in the pudding." That is what might have been said over 25 years ago when Senator Hubert Humphrey championed the WIC program as a good idea whose time had come. Well it is the very folks in this room who represent the pudding, proving how effective WIC has been at achieving its mandate. 

"Let me take you back to the Senate floor in 1977 and Senator Humphrey's reflections on the establishment of WIC. He said, "The future of this nation depends on the development of its young and still unborn. It is their health which will determine the nation's physical, mental and even economic well-being. The country's leading medical authorities [said] that improving the nutrition of pregnant women and children is the surest, most direct way to protect the future of these individuals as well as that of the
nation." 

"How right they were. And it is as true today as it was then.

"WIC is a part of a larger social commitment to fight hunger wherever we find it. And we don't have to go overseas to developing countries to find people who don't know where their next meal is coming from or who aren't getting the right food in their limited diets. Right here in the United States, 34 million people are food insecure. 

"Today, despite a booming economy, there are people who need our help.  In the six years that we've seen our federal budget go from historic deficits to expanding surpluses we've also seen the number of WIC participants increase from 5.9 million to 7.3 million women and children. 

"That shows that while we have the lowest unemployment in 41 years, 18 million new jobs since 1993, and record home ownership, there are still people who need the help that the federal food safety net provides. Just listen to these simple but poignant words recently sent to us by a WIC participant. She wrote, "Sometimes no matter how well you plan ahead, things do not always fall into place and it feels good to know that programs like WIC are available for those of us that need help."

"It is for people like this woman that we have a comprehensive federal food safety net. In addition to WIC, some of our efforts include the school meals program and, of course, Food Stamps.

"Food Stamps ensures that 18 million people don't go hungry. Recently our food stamp program ran into a curious problem, which was first thought to be a major success story. We've seen statistics that show food stamp rolls have declined by over 9 million people. While some of that shows genuine progress due to a robust economy and moving people from welfare to work, it all happened too fast, indicating there were other factors at work. The first hint was the dramatic rise in people seeking help from food pantries and other voluntary feeding efforts around the country. Then we began to see numbers that show that food stamp rolls were declining at 5 times the rate of poverty which meant that there were many eligible people out there, including children, needlessly going without food. 

"A key problem is perception. Many of the working poor just don't know they are eligible, confusing welfare ineligibility with the government's food assistance program. It's a problem that I know is facing some women and children who are eligible for WIC but don't know it. That's why it's important that we reach out, along with state and local governments, and let people know that these programs are here and that there is help for struggling families to get proper nourishment while they regain their economic footing. 
I do not want to see anyone, who can have help, not get it. 

"Beyond getting the word out, we're seeking to strengthen the safety net even further. We're asking Congress for $13 million for a pilot school breakfast program $15 million in funds to stimulate gleaning and food recovery efforts -- as you know an increase of $200 million to achieve full participation for WIC -- and an additional $5 million for our WIC farmers market program to help provide women and children with better access to healthy fruits and vegetables at the nation's growing number of farmers markets. 

"But while federal programs, together with scientific research, are the front lines in our battle, everyone can and should play a role. That's why I've made developing programs at the local level a priority. Through our Community Food Security Initiative, which I unveiled earlier this year, we've designed a plan to enhance and augment everything we're doing in government.  By creating partnerships that help communities help themselves, instead of only feeding people, we help communities work at the grass roots level to weed out hunger. 

"All over the country we are helping communities develop creative responses to hunger and malnutrition -- training people for food production jobs, teaching folks how to grow urban gardens on abandoned lots and bringing more farmers markets and their fresh affordable produce to the inner city.  And not only are we finding new and innovative ways to fight hunger, we're spreading the word. Just last month, during one of our listening sessions on hunger, we heard from non-profit groups at the local level on some of the programs that are working for them ... and we're sharing that information around the country and around the world.

"As long as we approach hunger from all sides, with as many tools as possible, one day we will win the war.

"One of those tools is WIC. Today we are here not only to celebrate WIC's achievements but to acknowledge the hard work and dedication of all of those who've come before you and to those who will carry on the WIC tradition for as long as WIC is needed, long after everyone in this room is retired.  Because for as long as there is one pregnant woman or one child who needs our 
help, WIC will be there. 

"And I say that knowing that we may have our work cut out for us beating back efforts by the majority in Congress who, if they get their way, will pass a 12% across the board cut in discretionary spending that could result in $500 million decreased funding for WIC next year and over $1 billion through 2004. 

"You'll often hear people cite WIC as a shining example of a good government program. But just how good is it? To take a measure of what WIC has done in a quarter of a century, let's look at what life would be like if there had been no commitment, no vision, and no courage to create WIC. 

"Without WIC, 22 percent of the 4 million children entering high school this year could have been saddled with handicaps and disabilities suffered as the result of low birth weights but the intervention of the WIC program helped prevent this from happening. And, without WIC, an estimated 113,000 babies would have died at birth. Think about it - among its other achievements, WIC
is responsible for saving the lives of over 100,000 babies. 

"WIC has spent $5.7 billion in benefits to pregnant women over the past 25 years, for an estimated savings of $20 billion to the Federal, State and local governments and to private health providers. The burden on the Medicaid system would be incalculable. Just think of all those mothers and all those sick babies, flooding clinics and hospitals and what the lives of these children might have been like. But, thanks to WIC, that's not what happened.  Thanks to WIC, these babies went on to get a good start in life.

"Because of your work, these children grow up to be thriving, hard-working, contributing members of society. Though there is much to do, we do have a lot to celebrate. WIC makes a difference, and the world would be far less secure and far less healthy for millions of mothers and children without it. Ladies and gentlemen you have a lot to be proud of. On behalf of President Clinton and Vice President Gore I congratulate you, your colleagues, past and present, and all your staffs for a terrific job well done. 

"WIC demonstrates what this Administration has been saying and showing for 6 years. That we can have a lean, fiscally responsible federal government and still provide the essential programs that the American people rely on government to provide. From food safety to airline safety -- from a nutritional safety net to ensuring the solvency of our banks from national security to social security -- WIC is another example of good government for the people. 

"But -- there's always a but let's not stop here. In the next 25 years, let's build on WIC's success. With full participation just a
Congressional vote away, let's ask ourselves how can we take WIC to the next plateau. 

"That next step is improving nutrition for all children. I don't have to tell the folks in this room how bad it is out there. How kids are awash in junk foods and not getting enough milk, meat and vegetables. How among the 75% of kids who say they eat at least one vegetable a day, the most popular vegetable is -- a potato -- usually in the form of potato chips or french fries. When you get to the most nutritious veggies, like the dark greens, less than 7% of kids touch them.

"And what they are not getting enough of is translating to what they are getting too much of fat. Obesity and overweightness effect 10 million U.S. children. That's a record and there's no sign that it won't be broken again soon. That should be of serious concern to all of us. For at least one in five kids, overweightness is not a cute phase that will be outgrown. It's the start of a lifetime of serous health problems. 

"The challenge to everyone who has anything to do with what children eat, is giving them the tools for better nutrition. WIC plays a very important part because the dietary habits we teach our children when they are very young are most likely the habits they will carry with them through life.  The trick is to get at kids early. WIC has been at the vanguard of this effort.

"The point is we have to continue to be innovative and creative and recognize that our goal isn't to dictate to our kids, but to encourage them to make informed choices and adopt a healthy, active lifestyle that will dramatically enhance their quality of life. 

"USDA made a step in that direction with the release last month of the food guide pyramid for children ages 2 thru 6. The underlying premise of The Food Guide Pyramid for Young Children is the same as the original food pyramid that eating a variety of foods is healthy...that there are no bad foods, only bad diets. Grains and vegetables should be your staples, but even sugars
and fats can be eaten -- in moderation. 

"It's important to emphasize that both the original Pyramid and this adaptation are meant to be helpful, not intrusive. This is not about the federal government standing over you in your kitchen and telling you how to cook dinner. The Pyramid is not a law; it is not a regulation. It is simply a set of guidelines that can help us choose the best diet for children.

"As policymakers and public health advocates, our challenge is to turn what we know into what people do. And when it comes to children -- our most vulnerable citizens and our hope for the future -- we must redouble our efforts to ensure that human behavior is informed by scientific knowledge. And the adapted Food Pyramid is an important tool in helping us do just that.

"So as WIC enters its next 25 years, let's build on our record of being not only food providers and health providers but of giving kids the nutritional knowledge to carry them through life.

"In closing, I return to the words of Hubert Humphrey who said, "The moral test of government is how it treats those who are in the dawn of life, the children; those who are in the twilight of life, the aged; and those who are in the shadows of life, the sick, the needy and the handicapped."

"By that standard, the WIC program and WIC people certainly measure up. 

"Thank you."

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