madam chairman , i rise today to express my disappointment at the under-funding of the commodity supplemental food program under the agriculture appropriations bill for fy 06 . 
the commodity supplemental food program is a federal program designed to improve the health of senior citizens , pregnant women and children whose income is not enough to pay for nutritious food . 
through this program , seniors , pregnant and breastfeeding women , and children younger than 5 in 34 states in this country have access to a monthly basket , which provides them with basic food , such as milk , rice , pasta , juice , canned vegetables , meat and fish , and cheese . 
each basket is designed to satisfy the specific needs for people who often have to choose between purchasing food and satisfying other necessities . 
each basket has the purpose of assisting elder people to stay healthy and active , and children to grow healthy and productive . 
inadequate funding for the commodity supplemental food program would result in the removal of more than 75 , 000 people currently participating in the program . 
seniors , women and children in poverty can not wait until next year to get adequate funding for the food they need . 
for these reasons , i recommended to the committee that funding for the commodity supplemental food program be increased to $ 148 million . 
unfortunately , the house appropriation falls far below the amount necessary . 
i can only hope that my colleagues in the other chamber will approve the adequate funds to avoid this social catastrophe . 
by approving increasing fund for this program we will show seniors , women and children in need , that we care and work for them . 
