[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 123 (Wednesday, September 28, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1968]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF H.R. 2123, SCHOOL READINESS ACT OF 2005

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                               speech of

                           HON. EARL POMEROY

                            of north dakota

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, September 22, 2005

  Mr. POMEROY. Mr. Chairman, I rise to say that I will be voting 
against H.R. 2123. Since its creation in 1965, Head Start has served 
more than 18.5 million low-income children and has focused and 
redefined its approach to assisting disadvantaged children in their 
social, physical and educational growth. While I wholeheartedly support 
Head Start programs, the legislation under consideration today contains 
several provisions that would negatively affect these programs.
  The bill as amended contains two major flaws. First, the bill 
contains increased education requirements for Head Start teachers, but 
does not provide funds to assist teachers with the costs associated 
with these new requirements. Second, organizations receiving Federal 
dollars should not be able to discriminate on the basis of religion for 
employment purposes. The underlying Head Start Act specifically stated 
that hiring and firing decisions could not be made on the basis of 
religion, but this provision has been eliminated in this bill.
  The bill does include some positive aspects, such as maintaining the 
Federal to local funding structure, expanding set-asides to migrant and 
American Indian populations, and increasing outreach to homeless 
families and foster children. I hope these provisions are retained and 
the bill is further improved during consideration in the Senate and by 
a subsequent conference committee before the legislation is enacted.

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