[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 13]
[House]
[Pages 18176-18177]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                     DO NOT BLOCK GRANT HEAD START

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Texas (Mr. Rodriguez) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. RODRIGUEZ. Mr. Speaker, once again, the needs of children and 
families do not make a priority in this House. They have left our 
children out in the cold on the number one issue of our community and 
that is education. Their proposal to block grant Head Start which 
provides money without guidelines for States and local implementation 
diverts attention from the critical needs of this program.
  What happened to the issue of local control when it comes to Head 
Start? What happened to the fact that Head Start has been working well 
as it is now? Why now send that money to the States?
  The only reason we decided to establish Head Start was because the 
States were unwilling, Mr. Speaker, unwilling to come up and respond to 
the needs of these children, unwilling to prepare them.
  The State of Texas, for example, is still a State that only funds 
kindergarten half a day. The local community taxpayers have to come up 
with the rest of the money in order to pay for half day kindergarten, 
not to mention that they do not provide anything for early childhood. 
So Head Start is a critical program that has been there, and there 
actually has been a Head Start for a lot of the Hispanic community. 
Where 50 percent of our youngsters are still dropping out, Head Start 
has been there for them to make sure and the statistics show that kids 
that go to Head Start are less likely to drop out or more likely to 
finish when they should and go beyond.
  Head Start has been a proven program, so why try to mess with it? Why 
try to destroy Head Start the way we know it now?
  One of the top educational priorities of the members of the 
Congressional Hispanic Caucus is to ensure that Hispanic children enter 
school ready to

[[Page 18177]]

learn. Hispanic children represent the fastest-growing school age 
population in the Nation. Unfortunately, they are the least likely to 
have the participation in preschool programs, opening an achievement 
gap before the first day of school begins.
  Soon Congress will again decide funding levels for Head Start, the 
premier level, early childhood education program that presents us with 
an opportunity to close that gap for Hispanic and African-American 
children and low-income children.
  For over 35 years, the Head Start program has proven itself. It has 
enjoyed great success in meeting the comprehensive development needs of 
low-income children. Head Start programs achieve school readiness for 
these children through the holistic approach and intense parent 
involvement, and that includes working with the parents. It includes 
reaching out, making sure that they understand how important education 
is, which is critical for those youngsters staying in school.
  The range and intensity of service is assured because of the national 
program standards that it has. If we rely on the States for full 
implementation, it would fatally undermine these national standards, 
jeopardizing access to comprehensive services as well as making Head 
Start ineffective in serving low-income children and their families. 
Yet that is just what the Bush administration has proposed and the 
Republican Congress intends to do and that is to begin to destroy Head 
Start the way we know it now, put it into the form of a block grant.
  Instead of looking for ways to remove themselves of their 
responsibility for Head Start, the administration and the Congress 
should put Head Start on the path for full funding. Currently, Head 
Start serves about 60 percent of their eligible children. They need 
additional resources to make sure we cover the other kids that are not 
covered by the existing program.
  Migrant and seasonal Head Start programs only reach 19 percent of the 
eligible children. The State educational agencies are not equipped to 
reach out to these youngsters that are out in the field a lot of times. 
As a nation, we must do better. For migrant and seasonal farm work 
families, access to Head Start is a public health and safety issue.
  In 1992, the General Accounting Office found that at least one-third 
of all migrant children as young as 10 work in the fields. This is in 
1992, where there are still kids working in fields with their families 
and either contribute to their family income or because no child care 
was available. Children in the field are at risk from injuries from 
farm equipment, overexposure to the elements, as well as pesticide 
poisoning and, of course, long-term health risks associated with 
exposure to chemicals. In many cases, if slots are not available to 
migrant seasonal Head Start programs, no programs exist in the area, 
there is no alternatives but to take the children to the fields and 
perhaps leave them unattended at the labor camps.
  The administration's proposal to block grant Head Start would do 
nothing to strengthen the growing numbers of limited English 
proficiency children in communities across this Nation; and we now see 
them in North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Arkansas and a lot of 
the States where we had not seen them before. As we have seen, with the 
implementation of the President's No Child Left Behind Act, States look 
to the Federal Government for assistance and guidance in providing 
services to these populations.
  The recent phenomena of emerging Hispanic communities poses a 
challenge to Head Start providers and participants. As children move 
into the areas of the U.S. where there have been Head Start programs 
operating but without experience in servicing, it is important that we 
continue to provide these resources.
  In addition, let me just close by saying it is important that we keep 
Head Start. It is important that we remain on track. It is important 
that this program also remain within the Department of Health and not 
be moved to the Department of Education.
  I also want the congratulate the Congressional Black Caucus on their 
efforts under the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Cummings), and I thank 
him for being here tonight.

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