[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 74 (Monday, May 7, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E967-E968]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    IMPROVING HEAD START ACT OF 2007

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                          HON. ELIOT L. ENGEL

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                         Wednesday, May 2, 2007

       The House in Committee of the Whole House on the State of 
     the Union had under consideration the bill (H.R. 1429) to 
     reauthorize the Head Start Act, to expand access, and for 
     other purposes:

  Mr. ENGEL. Mr. Chairman, I rise today in support of H.R. 1429, a bill 
to reauthorize and improve Head Start.

[[Page E968]]

  Head Start has been a vital program to our children since the day it 
was created in 1965 as part of the Great Society. President Lyndon 
Johnson created the program with the goal of combining education, 
health, and nutrition programs for low-income children. In its history, 
over 22 million children have been served by Head Start, including over 
900,000 in this year alone.
  Head Start provides an excellent foundation for the children who 
enroll in the program. About 95 percent of the students in Head Start 
are under five years old, and they are all at or below the poverty 
line. Without Head Start, a great number of these children would be in 
substandard preschools, if they were even lucky enough to be enrolled 
in anything. Head Start gives these kids the years of education they 
need in order to succeed in future years of schooling.
  H.R. 1429 would reauthorize the Head Start program, while at the same 
time offering improvements that have been necessary but neglected for a 
number of years.
  First, it will improve teacher and classroom quality. H.R. 1429 does 
this by first increasing teacher salaries in order to attract more and 
better teachers. Other provisions would require Head Start to use 
research-based methods to improve literacy and vocabulary. The bill 
would also provide improved training and technical assistance so 
teachers will be more educated in science and technology.
  The only problem I have today is the Republican discriminatory Motion 
to Recommit. The Republican leadership wants to institute federally 
funded discrimination into our Head Start program. They have tried this 
again and again, and although I support Head Start as much as anybody 
in this Chamber, I would vehemently oppose this reauthorization if the 
Motion to Recommit passes. I urge all of my colleagues to oppose the 
discriminatory Motion to Recommit when it comes to the floor.
  Mr. Chairman, I strongly support reauthorizing the Head Start program 
with the Democratic improvements.

                          ____________________