[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 6]
[House]
[Pages 7388-7389]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




             CELEBRATING THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF HEAD START

  (Ms. SCHAKOWSKY asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute.)
  Ms. SCHAKOWSKY. Mr. Speaker, I rise to celebrate the 50th anniversary 
of the Head Start program.
  Head Start is near and dear to my heart. I began my career as a Head 
Start teacher in the Chicago public schools. I have never forgotten how 
the program made a monumental difference for its students, and this 
Congress should not forget those kids either.
  Since its inception, Head Start has served 32 million children in all 
50 States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. 
territories. Last year, in my home State of Illinois, there were 130 
early Head Start and Head Start providers providing quality teachers.
  And there is an economic impact. Head Start accounted for more than

[[Page 7389]]

7,950 jobs in Illinois last year. Yet sequestration cuts have done 
serious damage to the programs in Illinois and around the Nation. In my 
State alone, more than $16.5 million in funding has been cut, 1,900 
children went unserved, and 549 jobs were lost.
  Certainly none of us was elected to keep young children in need from 
getting an education. We should celebrate the 50th anniversary by fully 
funding Head Start and eliminating the sequester because every child in 
our country deserves a quality education and a good start.

                          ____________________