Raúl Grijalva: “I rise again before my colleagues today to express my opposition to the Republican plan to destroy Head Start and in…”

“I rise again before my colleagues today to express my opposition to the Republican plan to destroy Head Start and in support of the substitute. Head Start, a successful Federal program for nearly 40 years, has never been a partisan issue. This year, though, my Republican colleagues have hijacked the issue and it now risks becoming the victim of a social political agenda, nothing to do with education. Head Start has become part of the plan to eliminate social programs from Federal responsibility. This cynical "not my problem, let 'em eat cake" agenda ignores our shared responsibility for poor children in this country. Yes, a shared responsibility to these children, a shared responsibility to fight poverty, and a shared responsibility to provide equal opportunity to all children regardless of their parents income. Mr. Chairman, it is simply irresponsible to neglect these children when we can do so much to help them. I urge my colleagues to vote "no" on H.R. 2210 and "yes" on the substitute.”