[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 10 (Friday, January 16, 2009)]
[Senate]
[Pages S649-S650]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION

  Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, I began my career as a preschool teacher 
back in my home State of Washington. That background has given me 
valuable insight into how important early childhood education is 
throughout a person's life.
  As a preschool teacher, I could tell from the first day which kids in 
my class had parents at home who read to them. At 4 years old, those 
kids were already ahead of their classmates because they had been 
introduced to words and books, and they were interested in learning.
  I have been proud to work here in the Senate to support education 
programs like Head Start that help more kids get an equal start in 
school. So I rise today to talk about two bills I reintroduced this 
week with my colleague on the other side of the aisle, Senator Bond, as 
well as Senator Clinton.
  The bills--the Education Begins at Home Act and the Ready to Learn 
Act--are a pair designed to help prepare children for school by 
focusing on their learning at home and at preschool and childcare 
programs.
  Both of these bills are based on research, and they expand on 
programs and efforts we already know work. They also have one component 
I especially like--they don't just focus on teachers--they support 
parents learning how to give their kids a healthy start. So I would 
like to spend a moment describing them.
  The first--the Education Begins at Home Act--would create the first 
Federal stream of money to help teach parents how to care for their 
kids, starting at birth.
  The bill would enable State and local governments to create programs 
that teach parents about healthy parent-child relationships, about 
boosting child development, about the demands and stress associated 
with caring for babies, about how to deal with difficult behavior, and 
about how to recognize postpartum depression.
  Most of us here know how difficult it is to be a new parent--
especially when you are under stress because of work or military 
service. The programs this bill would create will help prevent child 
abuse and teach parents about how their children grow and develop 
emotionally and intellectually.
  I know how important the Parents as Teachers Program is to families 
in Washington State with young children, and I believe we need to 
expand on the success of this program and others around the country.
  The second bill builds on the first by creating a competitive 
matching grant program within No Child Left Behind. It would fund high 
quality early childhood programs aimed at promoting school readiness 
for low-income children, particularly 4 year olds. And it would help 
reduce class sizes, increase teacher salaries, and require States to 
report regularly on the effectiveness of these programs.
  Research shows that children who get good prekindergarten education 
are less likely to fall behind or need special education services--and 
they are more likely to graduate from high school.
  To give you just one example, kids who learn the names and sounds of 
letters before they enter kindergarten are 20 times more likely to read 
simple words by the end of kindergarten. And children who don't learn 
the same skill before they start school often fail to catch up--ever.
  In other words, the early childhood education programs--like those we 
fund in this bill--are a great investment that will pay off in 
dividends later. They save money in the long run and help kids get the 
best possible start in life.
  As I said at the beginning of my remarks, I have been a strong 
supporter of early childhood education for my entire career. But given 
our economic crisis, investments like the ones I am talking about today 
are more important than ever before.
  I believe that strengthening our schools and making sure our kids are 
prepared for tomorrow's workplace are going to be the keys to economic 
recovery. We need to build a workforce that is the most competitive in 
the world so that we can recruit and hold onto good-paying jobs. And we 
can't do it unless all of our children get the strongest possible start 
in life.

[[Page S650]]

  So I urge my colleagues to support these bills and help our kids get 
on a path to learn and succeed.
  I yield the floor, and I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. In my capacity as a Senator from the State of 
Oregon, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be 
rescinded.
  Without objection, it is so ordered.

                          ____________________