[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 11]
[House]
[Page 16044]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                               HEAD START

  (Ms. JACKSON LEE of Texas asked and was given permission to address 
the House for 1 minute.)
  Ms. JACKSON LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to talk about 
something happy, and that is the Happy/Sad Pillow that is made by the 
parents of AVANCE in my district. With this toy, parents can teach 
numbers, cause and effect, colors, emotions, motor skills, social 
skills, and textures.
  I was fortunate enough to be with them today. They have a very 
healthy Head Start program, but we were able to give them $8 million in 
stimulus to help their infrastructure to build new buildings, and then 
a $3.2 million grant for a healthy marriage that helps grandparents and 
single parents to be able to raise up our children that are preschool.
  It is noted that the children that go through this program test with 
higher scores than those who have not and do much better in the public 
school system. It also evidences that the government can be a 
partnership, a private-public partnership, to make America great.
  We can create jobs. We can improve the education. We can lay out a 
pathway for our children. There is nothing wrong with the government 
being productive and forceful and working on behalf of the American 
people.
  So to the Congress here, my colleagues on the other side of the 
aisle, let's work together.

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