[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 51 (Friday, April 8, 2011)]
[House]
[Page H2550]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    FUNDING CUTS THREATEN HEAD START

  (Mr. CICILLINE asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute.)
  Mr. CICILLINE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to ask my Republican 
colleagues: Which child pictured here would you deny an early 
education? Why would I ask that question? I'll tell you why. As it 
stands now, the Republican budget proposal would kick 218,000 children 
out of Head Start and prevent them from receiving an education, some of 
these children right here on this poster.
  It will close 16,000 Head Start classrooms, classrooms in which these 
children learn. It will fire 55,000 Head Start teachers, teachers who 
teach these kids here.
  A budget document, my friends, is not just about dollars and cents. 
It reflects our priorities as a Nation. Our children are our future and 
must be our top priority. Head Start is a key investment in improving 
their educational outcomes.
  But if the Republican majority has their way, Head Start programs in 
my home State of Rhode Island will have to cut three kids from each 
classroom right now.
  So I ask my colleagues on the other side of the aisle: Which of these 
children would you deny an early education to?

                          ____________________