[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 91 (Thursday, June 7, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7348-S7349]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. DODD:
  S. 1573. A bill to promote public-private partnerships to strengthen 
investment in early childhood development for children from birth to 
entry into kindergarten in order to ensure healthy development and 
school readiness for all children; to the Committee on Health, 
Education, Labor, and Pensions.
  Mr. DODD. Mr. President, I rise today, to introduce The Early 
Childhood Investment Act of 2007 to create and enhance public-private 
partnerships to strengthen investment in early childhood development 
programs, considering the needs of all children from birth to their 
entry in kindergarten. Investing in our youngest children is essential 
to promote their healthy development and school readiness. I pleased 
that two of my colleagues from Connecticut in the House of 
Representatives--Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro and Congressman Joe 
Courtney--will introduce companion legislation today.
  We have a body of knowledge on early childhood development that must 
be put into practice through policies that aid the crucial emotional, 
social and intellectual development that occurs in the first 3 years of 
life. Research indicates that investments in the early years of a 
child's life pay dividends later through improved health, readiness for 
school, and economic well-being. The return on investment also includes 
more successful transition to kindergarten; reduced special education 
and remedial education placements; better employment opportunities and 
higher earnings; and lower incidence of crime and dependence on public 
welfare. Our Nation's economy benefits from early childhood investments 
through a better prepared workforce, stronger growth, and a rising 
standard of living. Additionally, society will benefit from less crime, 
enhanced schools, and children who are better prepared to participate 
as citizens in a democratic society, as a result of increased 
investments in early childhood development.
  Many States have an Early Learning Council or an advisory council 
that coordinates and aligns various programs serving children from 
birth to kindergarten entry. These entities facilitate collaboration 
among early childhood development activities in each State, but do not 
necessarily provide additional funding. Resources from Federal and 
State governments alone are not adequate to provide access to quality

[[Page S7349]]

early childhood development programs for all children.
  Currently the Federal Government provides funding for a variety of 
early childhood development programs including the Child Care and 
Development Block Grant, and Head Start, which have been essentially 
flat funded in recent years. States supplement this funding and also 
provide funding for State and local prekindergarten programs and parent 
development and support programs, such as home visiting. However, the 
Federal and State resources alone are not enough to reach all of our 
Nation's young children. In order to get closer to the goal of 
providing access to quality programs for all children before they enter 
kindergarten, the private sector also plays an important role. In 
addition, the Federal Government should provide resources to reward 
innovation at the state and community level and to leverage additional 
resources for continued innovation.
  In States such as Washington, Georgia, Michigan, Minnesota, Oklahoma, 
North Carolina, Arizona, Nebraska, Illinois, Vermont, and Virginia, 
public-private partnerships leverage resources to provide for the 
varied health and learning needs of children from birth to kindergarten 
entry and their families. Public-private partnerships have the ability 
to leverage the assets of public and private entities in terms of 
financial resources, expertise, and infrastructure in order to maximize 
and align investments in early childhood development. Federal funding 
authorized by this legislation will create incentives for more States 
to develop such partnerships and leverage further investment in young 
children and enhance existing partnerships in states.
  The purpose of the Early Childhood Investment Act of 2007 is to 
establish or enhance existing public-private partnerships that will 
strengthen investment in early childhood development by awarding grants 
to local community initiatives and programs that serve young children 
and their families.
  The bill is fairly straightforward. It requires the Secretary of 
Health and Human Services to establish a competitive grant program to 
award grants to a public-private partnership, in each State that 
applies, which will leverage resources to supplement existing State and 
Federal funds. The partnership will then award subgrants to State and 
local community initiatives to improve access to and quality of early 
childhood development for children from birth through age five and 
their families. The partnerships will leverage funding from nonprofit 
or for-profit organizations, private entities and State government to 
invest in high quality early childhood development programs.
  The Early Childhood Investment Act of 2007 authorizes $8 billion for 
fiscal year 2008, $10 billion for fiscal year 2009 and such sums as 
necessary in the following years. The Federal share represents 50 
percent of total expenditures by a partnership in the first year, 40 
percent in the second year and 30 percent in the outyears. I know I 
will hear that this cost is too large for the government to bear, but I 
would argue that the cost of not investing would be even greater. 
Children represent only a quarter of our population, but they are 100 
percent of our future and each of our children deserves an opportunity 
to reach his or her potential.
  The bill has been endorsed by America's Promise Alliance, First 
Focus, National Association for the Education of Young Children, 
National Association of Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies, and 
the National Women's Law Center. I hope that my colleagues will join me 
in supporting this important legislation.
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