Lynn C. Woolsey: “we must ensure that no matter where a child comes from or what his or her background is, that child has an equal…”

“we must ensure that no matter where a child comes from or what his or her background is, that child has an equal opportunity to succeed in school and in life. That begins with quality early childhood education, and that is why we need to and must reauthorize Head Start. This bill will allow 10,000 more children to benefit from the Head Start program. But many, many more children are eligible for Head Start, and those children will continue to be left behind. A real investment in our children would ensure that every single child who is eligible has access to this very successful program. Without full funding, some children continue to start elementary school far behind their peers. Some Members, as my friend on the other side of the aisle talked about, would like to allow Head Start programs to discriminate by using taxpayer dollars to hire staff based upon their religion, which is against everything I believe that the Head Start program stands for. When we already have a shortage of qualified Head Start teachers, we must not allow qualified teachers to be turned away simply because of their religion. Mr. Chairman, children are 25 percent of our population. They are 100 percent of our future. We must support and expand Head Start for the best possible beginning of their lives.”