Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, since 1965, the Head Start program has provided comprehensive health, developmental and educational services to disadvantaged, 4- and 5-year-olds. Head Start involves parents and communities in helping to prepare needy children to succeed in school and beyond. Because this program served such an important purpose, the notion that it could be abused to enrich the lifestyles of individuals rather than the lives of children is particularly shocking to the conscience. It's hard to imagine that any individual would seek to divert precious resources away from disadvantaged children in order to finance lavish cars, homes and travel; yet that's exactly what has happened. I would like to share two examples of these reported abuses which began coming to light almost 5 years ago. The head of a large organization of child care centers that operates Head Start programs in Ohio received pay that amounted to about a quarter of the public money that the centers receive each year. She owned a house in Aurora and another in Arizona. A Mercedes Benz and a Hummer were registered in the name of her centers. A portion of her salary came from Federal Head Start funds.”