Muncie Times, Muncie, Delaware County, 6 April 1995 — Page 8

Page8 Thursday, April 6,1995 Muncie Times

House moves theater

school lunch programs

by Judy Mays “Congress is on the verge of embracing the most callous public treatment of poor children in decades. All of us, who care about the future of this nation, must take quick, concerted action to convince Congress not to destroy 50 years of bipartisan work to protect children and families,” said Marian Wright Edelman, president of the Children’s Defense Fund. She is talking about the “Contract With America,” a diverse set of bills House Republicans have pledged to bring to a vote in the first 100 days of the 104th session of Congress, according to CDF Reports, published by the Children’s Defense Fund. Contract With America has been called by some a contract on children. In a recent House session Rep. Sheila Jackson-Lee (DHouston, Texas) said ‘The proposed cutback of the nation’s longstanding nutrition program is not only unacceptable, but immoral.” She quoted a statement prepared by nonpartisan physicians, which described the program as a direct threat to our nation’s children. “It is an attack on our smallest, weakest citizens,” said Jackson-Lee. Rep. Corrine Brown (Florida), in addressing the House, called the proposal a shameful assault. After noting that the school lunch program has worked since 1946, Brown said, “The rule applies if it’s not broke, don’t fix it. “It is apparent that block grants do not assure that funds will go to children’s nutritional programs and

child care and reductions can take several forms: groups of children can be cut off altogether and put on waiting lists for help; program benefits or quality of services can be reduce (examples are Medicaid or cutting AFDC grants 30 percent below current levels).” Rounded to the nearest 50, these are the number of children who would be dropped under a 30 these are the number of children who would be dropped under a 30 percent budget cut in Indiana alone: • Food stamps—76,950; school lunches—178,900; child support cases— 227,200; AFDC^12,100; Headstart—3,500; and Medicaid—107,200. (Source: CDF Reports). “It is an all out assault,” said Rep. Donald M. Payne of New Jersey. “Risking children going hungry under the cloak of fiscal responsibility is unbelievable.” This means that Congress is considering funding that would cut funding available to help parents pay for child care, cut funding for and eliminate the guarantees of nutritious meals for children in childcare and Headstart, eliminate the guarantee of child care for children whose parents on AFDC work or training activities or eliminate the guarantee of transitional child care for children whose parents leave AFDC to work. If you want your voice heard, call the Capitol switchboard at 202-224-3121 and tell the senators and representatives that childcare helps parents work, children learn and families stay together. Delaware County resi-

dents may ask to leave a message for Indiana U.S. Sens. Richard Lugar and Dan Coats and U.S. Rep. David McIntosh.

The Hoosier members on the House Education and Economic Opportunities Committee are David M. McIntosh (R.) 202-225-

3021, Mark E. Souder (R.) 202-225-4436, and Tim Roerner (D.) 202-225-3915. ❖

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NELLIE JONES

Honesty Reliability Stability ♦ Homeowner for 18 years ♦ Mother of two sons ♦ Employed 20 years at Ball Memorial Hospital ♦ Volunteer for Nursing Home and Crisis Intervention ♦ Attended Ivy Tech and Ball State University ♦ Will Graduate with a Degree in Mental Health ♦ Attends Calvary Baptist Church

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