HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 37
(By Mr. Speaker, Mr. Chambers, and Delegates Fleischauer,
Osborne, McGraw, Collins, Kominar, Ellis, Fragale, Johnson,
Leach, Douglas, Linch, Prezioso, Fantasia, J. Martin, Staton,
Whitman, Prunty, Preece, Dempsey, Michael, Cann, Adkins,
Givens, Ennis, Williams, Ryan, Nichols, Heck, Kallai, Yeager,
Mezzatesta, Rowe, Kiss, Thompson, Browning, Hubbard, Jenkins,
Beane, Pino, Petersen, Frederick, Kuhn, Ball, Beach, Burke,
Gallagher, Compton, Moore, Varner, Hutchins, Everson, Amores,
Farris, Seacrist, Hunt, Talbott, Tillis, Kelley, and Bennett)
Urging Congress to preserve the Women, Infants and Children (WIC)
Program.
Whereas, A child's most critical developmental periods are
during the prenatal stage and early childhood; and
Whereas, A child that receives proper nutrition during these
critical stages is less likely to develop serious illness; and
Whereas, Expectant mothers who are malnourished run a much
higher risk of delivering low birth-weight babies, subjecting
their future children to longer stays in the hospital and
long-term adverse health risks, thereby raising medical costs;
and
Whereas, Proper nutrition during the early childhood period
allows children to enter the educational system better able to
obtain the most from their instruction; and
Whereas, Children who receive proper nutrition during
critical developmental stages are more likely to be better
prepared to enter the workforce because they will be healthier
and better educated; and
Whereas, The Women, Infants and Children Program (WIC) was
found to result in cost savings to other federal state and local
programs during the first eighteen years of the lives of children
in a 1992 study by the General Accounting Office (GAO); and
Whereas, The GAO study also showed that WIC helps protect a
child's cognitive development, thus saving on expensive special
educational instruction; and
Whereas, WIC is not simply a food distribution program, but
rather its nutritional education programs actually change
behaviors resulting in better outcomes for children and families;
and
Whereas, Fifty-five thousand West Virginians participate in
the WIC program and West Virginia receives twenty-eight million
dollars in federal funding for WIC; and
Whereas, A 1990 U.S. Department of Agriculture study showed
that every one dollar spent on the prenatal component of the WIC
program yielded an average savings of approximately three dollars
in medical costs; therefore, be it
Resolved by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That Congress is hereby urged to preserve the Women, Infants
and Children (WIC) Program; and, be it
Further Resolved, That the Legislature acknowledges andwishes to especially recognize the valuable contributions of the
WIC program in this state; and, be it
Further Resolved, That the Legislature firmly believes that
WIC should be protected and preserved due to the many benefits to
the state and to individual children and families, as well as
cost savings to state and federal governments; and, be it
Further Resolved, That the Legislature has enormous concerns
and misgivings about converting funding for WIC into a block
grant, thereby decreasing total funding and eliminating the
requirement for nutritional education, one of the most crucial
portions of the WIC program; and, be it
Further Resolved, That for these reasons the Legislature
wishes to go on record as opposing the Personal Responsibility
Act contained in the so-called "Contract with America" because of
the negative impact it would have on the WIC program, which has
a magnificent track record in benefiting the citizens, especially
the children, of this great state, and, be it
Further Resolved, That March 2, 1995, be designated
"preserve WIC Day" in the State of West Virginia; and, be it
Further Resolved, That the Clerk forward copies of this
resolution to the State Congressional Delegation.