[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 90 (Wednesday, June 18, 2003)]
[House]
[Page H5548]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      THE IMPORTANCE OF HEAD START

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Payne) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. PAYNE. Mr. Speaker, as we continue to discuss the importance of 
Head Start, the Head Start program to our communities, I want to draw 
attention to a resolution that I offered, H. Res. 238, expressing 
support for the Head Start program, which has had such a positive 
impact on the lives of millions of children nationwide.
  This resolution not only recognizes the contributions of Head Start; 
it also supports maintaining its current designation at the Department 
of Health and Human Services.
  Earlier this week, I participated in a hearing convened by our 
chairman, the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Cummings) of the 
Congressional Black Caucus, where we had an opportunity to hear from 
those who are directly involved in administering the program, including 
Maxim Thorne, executive director of the New Jersey Head Start 
Association. He expressed his concern about the effort to block grant 
the program, which he said would have a devastating impact on New 
Jersey's Head Start children.
  The majority backed off of the block grant to all of the programs, 
but selected eight States, one of which is New Jersey. The eight States 
carry about one-third of the children, as was indicated by the 
gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Davis).
  Most of the States selected are States that have financial problems, 
as we have in New Jersey. In New Jersey, we are already grappling with 
the Abbott decision, which was a decision where our Supreme Court of 
New Jersey said that every child in New Jersey is entitled to a 
thorough and efficient education.
  The State administration is before the courts asking for relief from 
that decision, saying that the budget is tight, they have constraints, 
they cannot fully fund this court order; and they are asking to be 
allowed to delay and defer programs under the Abbott decision.
  What will happen when the Head Start money comes? It will be very 
tempting to see if perhaps this money can go further and be used in 
trying to comply with the Abbott decision. I think it is wrong, and I 
definitely oppose it, as do all of the members of the Democratic Party 
on the Committee on Education and the Workforce.
  Also echoed by our executive director of the Head Start program was 
the provision which would allow for open discrimination of Head Start 
workers based on religion. This goes against everything our Nation 
stands for.
  Mr. Speaker, Head Start has a proud and successful history. In 1964, 
President Lyndon Johnson gave his State of the Union Address before 
Congress and our Nation with an announcement to declare war on poverty. 
In his declaration, he believed, for the first time in history, poverty 
could be eradicated, and offered his proposal, the Economic Opportunity 
Act of 1964.
  Despite opposition that believed poverty was on the decline from the 
heights of the Great Depression, President Johnson was undaunted. He 
declared the act does not merely expand old programs or improve what is 
already being done, it takes a new course. It strikes at the causes, 
not just the consequences of poverty. It can be a milestone in our 180-
year search for a better life for our people.
  After the bill was signed into law, an Office of Economic Opportunity 
was created to fulfill its mission. At the same time, a pediatrician by 
the name of Dr. Robert Cooke was asked by the head of this new office 
to lead a steering committee to come up with specialists to find out 
what should be done.
  The Cooke memorandum outlined what we know as the Head Start program. 
Launched as an 8-week summer program, Head Start was designed to help 
break the cycle of poverty by providing preschool children of low-
income families with a comprehensive program to help meet their 
emotional, social, health, nutritional, and psychological needs.
  Since its inception, Head Start has served over 20 million children. 
Today it is a full-day, full-year program providing pre-school children 
of low-income, working families with a comprehensive program to meet 
their emotional, social, health, nutrition, and parental support needs.
  Head Start's focus on the whole child extends to recognizing the 
importance of the family, not the institution. Throughout its history, 
Head Start has included parents in both their child's education and 
membership in the Head Start Policy Council, which serves as a vital 
link between the community and the public and private agencies. 
Parental involvement is a critical and integral part of the program. 
Economically deprived families are no longer seen as passive recipients 
of service, but rather as active, respected participants and decision-
makers.
  So, as I conclude, with the average child care cost in my State of 
New Jersey over $5,000 a child, thousands of children across the State 
and others would not have had access to an exceptional program that has 
them ready to learn by the time they enter kindergarten if Head Start 
was not there to serve them. Terms such as ``State options'' and 
``coordination'' will mean shortchanging and ending a 38-year program 
which has proven to be successful to millions of children.
  We need to move towards full funding of Head Start. We need to 
support and preserve the Head Start program. I look forward to working 
with my colleagues to accomplish this goal.

                          ____________________