[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 13]
[House]
[Pages 17420-17421]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                               HEAD START

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from California (Ms. Waters) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Ms. WATERS. Mr. Speaker, tonight I want to discuss one of the best 
programs in America, a program that is 38 years old and has served the 
children of America extremely well. This program has been commended, 
lauded and talked about by Presidents Clinton and Bush, Sr., and even 
President Ronald Reagan commended the Head Start program.
  This program has never served all of the children who need this 
program. As a matter of fact, we only serve about 60 percent, I 
believe, of the children who

[[Page 17421]]

need the Head Start program. We find this diverse program in various 
communities around the country. We find it in the inner cities, in 
suburban areas, and even in rural communities. And for those 
communities who are fortunate enough to have the Head Start program, we 
hear nothing but praises from the parents, from the people who work in 
the program, from community leaders and elected officials.
  Head Start was instituted under the War on Poverty some 38 years ago 
because the educators and researchers discovered that to the degree 
that we are able to provide young children with a Head Start 
experience, they will be better prepared for kindergarten and for 
education. When they started this program, preschool was only available 
to the upper middle class, for the most part. Certainly poor people 
could not afford to give their children a preschool experience, nor 
could working parents really afford to do that.
  So little children who did not have access to preschool programs did 
not have the opportunity to take trips to the zoo. As a matter of fact, 
they did not have opportunities to take trips to farms. They did not 
have opportunities to take a ride on a train. They found that most of 
the children, particularly in poor communities, had never been 20 miles 
away from home. So Head Start came into being under the War on Poverty, 
and what a wonderful program it has been.
  This program was developed a little bit differently than regular 
education. It was decided that Head Start would address the whole child 
and the family and the community. In Head Start, children get a 
physical examination. In Head Start, children get nutrition. They get 
breakfast, and they are served lunch. In Head Start, not only do 
children have physical examinations, receive proper nutrition, but one 
of the most important components of Head Start is the parental 
involvement component of Head Start.
  I know about this program, because 38 years ago I had the great 
opportunity to work with the Head Start program. I started with Head 
Start at its inception, and I started as an assistant teacher in the 
classroom, working with the children. But I soon learned that I really 
wanted to work with the parents, and I eventually became the Supervisor 
of Parent Involvement and Volunteer Services.
  I had the opportunity to welcome parents to the Head Start site. I 
had the opportunity to get parents involved with the inspection of the 
program, in helping determine the budget of the program, in helping to 
give input to the teachers.
  Parents soon learned that they really did have a lot to give. Many 
parents who thought, because they were not educated, that they could 
not be of assistance to their children, but they soon learned that they 
could determine their children's educational destiny.
  What a wonderful experience it was, seeing parents getting more 
involved with their children, and children becoming alive. We found 
children with learning disabilities, learning disabilities that never 
would have been detected had they not come to Head Start. We found that 
there were children who did not see well, whose parents would never 
have had the money for eye examinations and who received corrections. 
We discovered that there were children with emotional and mental 
difficulties, and, for the first time, they had access to psychological 
and psychiatric help if it was needed.

                              {time}  2030

  Now we are at a point in time where this administration wants to 
change Head Start. Some of our Members are saying if it is not broke, 
do not fix it. That is absolutely true. Why do we have this 
administration now wanting to take our precious Head Start program and 
block grant it to the States?
  They are simply saying we want to get the Federal Government out of 
the business of running Head Start programs. What they are saying is we 
want to dump it into the laps of the States. Please do not send it to 
California. We have a $38 billion deficit. If this administration block 
grants Head Start to California with no mandates, I will tell Members 
what will happen to Head Start. They are going to siphon off the money 
to help pay the bills.
  As we look around the country, we are finding that many of our States 
are in great difficulty. This administration is not only talking about 
block granting Head Start, but also section 8 housing programs, 
everything they can get their hands on, divesting itself of the running 
of programs that are so vital to this country. I do not want this 
administration to make the mistake of dismantling this program.
  Mr. Speaker, all I can say in closing is we have to fight to keep 
Head Start. We have to make sure that this program is available to the 
children, not cut back, not block granted, but expanded so more 
children will have the opportunity for this wonderful experience.

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