wic is a very cost effective program. wic costs have increased at about half the rate of inflation over time. it's a very sound investment and states have played an important part in that so the way the program is structured contributes to that incentive structure. >> thank you. did you want to add anything for any of these questions. >> no, on wic no senator. >> very good. thank you very much. i'm glad you're here. very important topic and as i said the last bill they were involved in and now leading the committee was very important and we made some great strides and we need to continue improvement in the nutrition standards. thank you to both of you. >> thank you. i want to look back at the program. i am from north carolina. i was speaker of the house down there and looked at the various school systems, we have 115 of them in north carolina. they seem to be both for and against the food nutrition program in terms of they liked the outcome but they didn't like the overhead or didn't like how the regulations required them

>> just because wic is a federal program most of the rules are federal. there are certain areas where there state flexibility. states have a built in incentive to contain costs in china because they get a limited amount. the more efficiently they can use that money the more people they can serve and that's been very motivating because it's a very cost effective program. wic cost of increased at about half the rate of inflation over time your very sound investment and state simply an important part in debt. to the way the program is structured contribute to the incentive structure. >> thank you very much. mr. lord, did you want to add anything to any of these questions? >> not on the wic, no. thank you. >> thank you very much. i'm glad you're here. it's are important topic and as i said alaska bill that senator stabenow was involved in some kind of senator roberts on the committee and a leading figure and i think was very important and we've made great strides and we need to continue improvement in the nutrition standards. thank you to both of you. >> sena

wic is a very cost-effective program. wic costs have increased at about half the rate of inflation over time. it's a very sound investment and states have played an important part in that. so the way the program is structured really contributes to that incentive structure. >> thank you very much. mr. chairman lord did you want to add anything for any of these questions? >> not on wic, no, senator. >> okay, very good. thank you very much and i'm glad you're here. it's a very important topic and, as i said, the last bill with senator stabenow was involved in, i know senator roberts on the committee and now leading the committee i think was very important and we've made some great strides and we need to continue improvement in the nutrition standards. thank you to both of you. >> senator? >> thank you mr. chairman. miss neuberger or mr. lord, i want to look back at the program. i'm from north carolina. i was speaker of the house down there, worked a lot with the various school systems. we have 115 of them in north carolina a

wic is one innovation to address the double burden.families school shelter communities and pediatricians play an important role in shaping healthy habits. wind in the middle of an epidemic you cannot keep doing what you've always been doing. as pediatricians, parents, community leaders and policymakers, we have an obligation to ensure that we provide our children is healthy and nutrition and that we model healthy eating as adults. good nutrition in childhood sets the stage for lifelong health and just like we vaccinate to protect against illness, we could also vaccinate against chronic disease by providing pregnant women and children with nutritional assistance and breast feeding support. as we so what our mothers this weekend, i urge the committee to the mothers and children's nutritional needs first. our children's health simply cannot wait. thank you and i'll be happy to take any questions. >> thank you very much. we will proceed with questions. i know that you will be returning in just a moment, so thank you to each of you for your

wic helps give children a healthy start. they are improved outcomes, increased rates of immunization better access to health care and participation may help reduce childhood obesity and is played an important role in breast-feeding. we recommend the community seek to find ways to promote breast-feeding, including by an increase in the authorization for the breast-feeding peer counseling program. kayfive is a targeted intervention with impacts that can be long-term in nature including improved health outcomes, educational prospects. as a pediatrician i have seen firsthand the importance of nutrition. when i started my practice i was seeing adolescents. i had a special clinic for children under five with obesity. these children were already showing the effects of increased body mass index. we saw obesity related liver disease in four -year-olds and prediabetes at age six. today experiencing an unprecedented crisis resulting in the double burden. the connecting factor is poverty. and increasingly the picture of food insecurity

and that's why continuing to protect and strengthen the wic program is so important. it's for all of these reasons and many many more that we need today. and it's the reason we must take this process of reauthorizing our child nutrition program seriously and i appreciate that the chairman does. the good news is for the first time in years it looks as though we're beginning to make some progress on these issues. obesity rates have begun to stabilize in some areas, more children are eating healthy breakfasts and lunches than ever before children are eating 16% more vegetables 23% more fruits according to the harvard school of public health, and as i have said many many times it seems to me that our children are worth continuing the requirement of school meals for a half a cup, that's not very big there's not a whole lot that goes in this, actually, a half a cup of fruit or vegetable as part of our commitment it's not the whole commitment but a very important part of our commitment to our children's health and success. but we know there's much more to do. nutrition at it

>> not on the wic, no senator. >> thank you very much. i'm glad to hear that it's very important topic. as i said the last bill that senator stabenow was involved in, i senator roberts on the committee and a leading the committee i think was her import and we've made some great strides and we need to continued improvement in the nutrition standards. thank you to both of you. >> senator tillis? >> thank you mr. chair. ms. neuberger, or mr. lord, what to look back at the program. i'm from north carolina. i was speaker of the house down there, worked a lot with the there's a school systems. we have 115,000 in north carolina and they seem to be both for and against the food nutrition program in terms if you like the outcome but they did like the overread orbited necessarily like how the regulations required them to implement it, that the level of details involved. has there been any work done on trying to figure out how we can if we are measuring outcomes and that's the question i have for you, mr. lord. i know you're going through, the gao i

wic is just one intervention to address the double burden. families or schools child care communities, andpedetrations play an important role in shaping healthy habits. when you're in the middle of an epidemic, you can't keep doing what you have always done. as pediatricians, parents and policymakers, we have an obligation to make sure the food we provide our children isnutritious. good nutrition in childhood stets the stage for lifelong health, and just like we vaccinate to protect against illness, we can also vaccinate against chronic disease by providing pregnant women and children with support. as we celebrate our mothers this weekend, i urge the committee to put mothers and children's needs first, our children's health simply cannot wait. thank you. i'll be happy to take any questions. >> thank you very much. we will proceed with questions. i know the chairman will be returning in just a moment. thank you to each of you for your comments. we very much appreciate it. and dr. hassink, thank you for reminding us what this is all about in te

. >> as far as medicaid and wic and such, it was a process to go through, but i eventually got it. >> reporter: this woman has a 3-year-old daughter. looking around her southeast neighborhood she considers herself lucky. >> i had a lot of help. >> reporter: from? >> my mom, my family. it was very important. they played a big role in the success. >> reporter: overall d.c.'s infant mortality rates have dropped the last 15 years thanks to public private programs from health departments, churches, nonprofits and other community- based organizations. progress that's still a lot way to go. >> when we look at the rates, we see a tale of two cities, but in reality we live in 1 city. >> in the report the district ranked last on a list of 25 wealthy capital cities around the world. see how the district's numbers compare to local counties in maryland and virginia. check out our wusa9 news app. >>> tonight we're getting a look at disturbing surveillance video that helped convicts a prince george's county police officer of assaulting a student. -- convicts a prince george's county police officer o

us now to analyze the coverage of the riots and the tragedy that triggered the violence, david zur wic, television and media critic for the baltimore as you know. amy holmes who anchors the hot list for the blaze. david zurick has the media invasion since the riots broke out helped your city or inflamed the situation? >> even when we say media invasion or media, there's parts of it. some parts of this coverage have been very good others haven't. i will say this about the coverage. first of all, from the president to the mayor, all these people the politicians, who have talked about the media only showing up after there is violence let me just give you a fact. cnn was there five days before the first violence on saturday the 25th of april and they were doing showing from there. brook baldwin was hosting shows out of there. so we don't just chase the violence. was there more after the violence? absolutely. but here's the thing. out of this week howie, if nothing else we've had a much better look at the causes of civil unrest in this country. the statistics that have come out about west b

that's one out of three americans getting whether it's school lunch program or nutrition programs or wic or food stamps. that's a big problem when you have 100 million people that are depending on taxpayers to put food on the table. gerri: and smaller and smaller group of people paying the taxes. go right ahead liz. >> if i could validate that report for you steve i actually wrote that up. we spent $100 billion last year across 18 federal programs, the biggest is obviously food stamps. the total of all americans getting assistance in these 18 programs is 109 million. that is not a good sign of a growing economy. >> and by the way, i think it's related to why so many -- the big mystery is why are so many people out of workforce when a lot of the employers can't find workers? i think we connect the dots here. a lot of people are on the government assistance programs and are not going to make a job that pays $15, $16 an hour, they can get food stamps unemployment assisted housing. we are in an entitlement state mentality. it's hitting young people who aren't working. i have a teenager at ho

that is why continuing to protect and strength than the wic program is so important.he process we authorize a child attrition programs seriously and i appreciate that the chairman does. the good news is for the first time in years ... though we are beginning to make progress on these issues. obesity rates have begun to stabilize in some areas. more children are eating healthy breakfasts and lunches than ever before. children are eating 60% more vegetables 23% more for his according to the harvard school of public health. as i have said many, many times, it seems to me that our children are worth continuing the requirement of school meals for a half a cup not very big not a whole lot bigger than this. a half a cup of fruit or vegetable as part of our commitment. not the whole commitment at a very important part of our commitment to her children's health and success. we know there's much more to do. the attrition at its core is preventative medicine and child nutrition is about doubling the playing field so that any baby, any child, any team, whether in detroit or rural

she works on the school meal programs and wic and has been with the center since 2001. veteran and knows what she is talking about. i didn't mean to say you didn't welcome and i look forward to your insight. >> thank you as you said i'm a senior policy analyst and nonprofit policy institute that conducts research and analysis on budget and tax policy as well as poverty and social programs that includes low income children for who school meals may be the healthiest they get. there are also nearly 100,000 schools that operate the programs and they do a remarkable job. process applications and provide healthy meals and keep track of the eligible of each student they play a viral role in children's health and wellbeing. they must continue to play this role by administering the programs accurately. the net annual cost of lunches was $444 million they must make sure that federal funds are used for meals that meet criteria. there's a verification process in place and new review process and they just completed a study that not only met them but also the causes of errors which a