WASHINGTON, April 25 — Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP), alongside Sens. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) and 39 of their Democratic colleagues, wrote to Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to call out the Trump administration’s direct attacks on Head Start, remind him of his legal obligation to administer the program, and demand that he immediately release Head Start funding and reverse the mass firing of Head Start staff and the gutting of the offices that help ensure high-quality services are available for thousands of children and families across the country.
“Since day one, this Administration has taken unacceptable actions to withhold and delay funding, fire Head Start staff, and gut high-quality services for children. Already this year, this Administration has withheld almost $1 billion in federal grant funding from Head Start programs, a 37 percent decrease compared to the amount of funding awarded during the same period last year,” wrote the senators. “It is abundantly clear that these actions are part of a broader effort to ultimately eliminate the program altogether, as the Administration reportedly plans to do in its fiscal year 2026 budget proposal.”
“Head Start is a critical source of child care for working families, particularly in rural and Tribal communities, where Head Start programs are often the only option for high-quality child care services. Head Start programs ensure children receive appropriate health and dental care, nutrition support, and referrals to other critical services for parents, such as job training, adult education, nutrition services, and housing support,” continued the senators. “You even acknowledged the value of Head Start following a recent visit to a Virginia Head Start center… However, as a result of your actions to withhold and delay funding and undermine the administration of this vital program, Head Start centers are in serious jeopardy and have already had their day to day operations impacted. Programs are increasingly worried that they will not be able to make payroll, pay rent, and remain open to serve the hundreds of thousands of children and families who depend on their services in communities across the nation.”
Head Start and its 250,000 dedicated staff around the country play an instrumental role in providing early childhood education and essential health services to nearly 800,000 young children nationwide. Gutting Head Start offices and firing the staff who keep the federal program running puts the entire program in jeopardy. In their letter, the senators detail specific cuts made by the administration, how these cuts are already affecting the services that families rely on, and how Head Start programs have received little to no communication from the administration regarding a path forward.
“The Administration has a legal and moral obligation to disburse Head Start funds to programs and to uphold the program’s promise to provide high-quality early education services to low income children and families across this country,” conclude the senators. “We believe it is obvious that delaying funding like we have seen over the last two months, forcing Head Start programs to close, and leaving families to scramble to find quality, affordable alternatives puts the education and well-being of some of the most vulnerable young children in America at risk. In our view, that is unacceptable. Therefore, we urge you to immediately reinstate fired staff across all Offices of Head Start, and cease all actions to delay the awarding and disbursement of funding to Head Start programs across this country.”
Joining Sanders, Murray and Baldwin on the letter were Sens. Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawaii), Andy Kim (D-N.J.), Ben Ray Lujan (D-N.M.), Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.), Peter Welch (D-Vt.), Gary Peters (D-Mich.), Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), John Fetterman (D-Pa.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Christopher Coons (D-Del.), Christopher Murphy (D-Conn.), Jeffrey Merkley (D-Ore.), Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), Tim Kaine (D-Minn.), Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Edward Markey (D-Mass.), Angus King (I-Maine), Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Angela Alsobrooks (D-Md.), and Mark Warner (D-Va.).
Read the letter here.