[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 59 (Tuesday, May 12, 1998)]
[House]
[Page H3078]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           MORE ON CHILD CARE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Maine (Mr. Allen) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. ALLEN. Mr. Speaker, I would like to continue this dialogue just a 
little bit longer and start with a few remarks, and then I will yield 
back to the gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. Snyder) again.
  One of the things I found is that for families with more than one 
child, transportation issues can really be a headache because they have 
got one child in school, another child going to child care somewhere 
else in the city or town. And if they can drop their children off at 
one place, life is simpler. And some school-based programs extend the 
use of school bus services to children participating in child care 
programs.
  I think this is a new direction for child care and education in this 
country. It is not going on everywhere, but it is going on in my 
district in Maine. It is going on in Arkansas. It is going on in a 
number of places around the country. Some families, some parents tell 
me that when a school vacation comes or summer vacation comes, it is 
really hard to find a place for our kids to go. We do not want to leave 
them at home watching television all the time. We want someplace where 
they will be motivated, interested, and have some programs that are 
helpful to them. The programs that would be eligible under this bill 
are full-day, year-round programs. So they would be targeted at schools 
that will stay open during school vacations for the purposes of 
providing child care, and they will stay open during the summers for 
the purposes of providing child care.
  Quality school-based care programs utilize existing resources in that 
school, such as arts supplies, sports equipment, playgrounds and so on. 
And it really gives school employees and social service agencies a way 
to enhance the quality of the programs that they provide.
  I believe that school-based care makes logical sense for both school-
aged children as well as preschool children. I believe firmly that if 
we do not deal with the issues that kids have between zero and six, if 
we do not pay attention to that age group, we are missing a chance to 
help kids get off on the right foot. What we need is the national will 
to leave no child behind and the resources to make that happen. I 
believe that a country that can support the salaries of players in the 
NBA and the NFL and major league baseball can take better care of its 
kids.
  So I rise today to challenge my colleagues to commit to policies and 
practices that reflect the importance of those early years in a child's 
life. Our mission is simple: Leave no child behind.
  I want to thank the gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. Snyder) because the 
Education Child Care Partnership Act has been a partnership between our 
offices, and we now can look forward to having other Members of this 
body support it.
  I yield to the gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. Snyder) for concluding 
comments.
  Mr. SNYDER. First of all, anyone involved in child care recognizes 
there has been tremendous work done by other entities. We do not see 
this as being a competition. We actually would only see school boards 
stepping in if there was not quality child care going on in their 
communities. So there is always going to be a place for the profit-
making ventures, the nonprofit churches that have child care for Head 
Start. This is not intended at all to be competing with those. But when 
you have communities, particularly in rural areas, that do not have any 
of those options available or the options there are are not meeting the 
need, I think this gives a community another option through their local 
officials with completely local control. Also just the quality aspect 
of it. I was visiting one school one day that had an early childhood 
program connected to a school building. The kids were taken down to the 
science lab when there was a teachers' break from other classes and 
these little kids, little toddlers, were getting little science 
demonstrations there in the high school science lab. So there are 
tremendous opportunities for a community to put together a program. We 
are intending this grant money to be start-up money to help the schools 
meet the needs in their communities for quality child care.

                          ____________________