(As Prepared for Delivery)
I applaud President Bush for enacting this landmark reauthorization of the Head
Start program. By an overwhelming margin, Congress has elected to keep Head Start on
its successful path, and to enable the program to thrive and improve.
With this bill, we’re reaching out early to make greater opportunities available for
thousands of our neediest children. We’re providing a fairer chance for very young
children to grow up healthy and safe. We’re preparing them to enter school ready to
learn, and to graduate from high school ready to go on to college and achieve the
American dream.
This reauthorization maintains the high standards and comprehensive services in
Head Start. It upgrades the educational aspects and quality of the program. It dedicates
greater resources to training Head Start teachers, and sets specific goals for their learning
and development. And it expands the successful Early Head Start program to reach up to
8,000 additional infants and toddlers living in poverty.
Two years ago, the Government Accountability Office confirmed many of my
long-standing concerns with this Administration’s Head Start National Reporting System,
concluding that their test of 4- and 5- year olds in the program is not a valid
determinations about Head Start’s quality or about the children it serves. That study also
confirmed that the test was inconsistent with nationally-recognized testing standards and
unclear in its purpose.
I’m pleased that, on a bipartisan basis, Congress has terminated the flawed
National Reporting System. This reauthorization will ensure that any assessment used
from this point forward in Head Start programs will be valid and reliable, fair to children
from all backgrounds, and measure the whole child. Head Start children and their
families deserve nothing less.
The focus on local neighborhoods and their children has always been at the heart
of the Head Start program, which is why Congress also rejected the Bush
Administration’s flawed approach to block grant Head Start. This Administration’s block
grant for Head Start proposed to block out its guarantee of comprehensive services for
children and families. Head Start’s design enables it to tailor its services to meet local
community needs, and this reauthorization will maintain a universal standard of quality
across every Head Start center in the nation.
Most importantly, this reauthorization signals a commitment to invest more in our
youngest children, and to assist Head Start in responding to the changing and evolving
needs of its children. I am disappointed that President Bush has distanced himself from
the funding commitment this bill provides. While the President has asked Congress to
approve spending $433 million per day in Iraq, he says the modest increase in this bill to
help our neediest children prepare for school is too much – an increase that, over 3 years,
is equivalent to the cost of only two days in Iraq. I hope the President will join Congress
in providing the resources needed for Head Start to grow and succeed.
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