Tom Harkin: “there is no issue of greater importance to our country than the education of our citizens. The budget before us calls…”

“there is no issue of greater importance to our country than the education of our citizens. The budget before us calls for modest new investments in education over the next 5 years by increasing resources for education and training programs. In addition, the budget provides tax credits and deductions to middle income families to help pay for post-secondary education as outlined in the budget resolution. I fully support those initiatives. However, I believe we can and must do better. Several years ago I read a report by the Committee on Economic Development. This is a group of CEO's from some of our Nation's largest companies and they called on us to fundamentally change how we think about education. They said education is a process that begins at birth and that preparation must begin before birth. They called on the Federal Government to make additional investments in early intervention activities such as Head Start. I believe we should heed their words. The pending amendment makes these investments to ensure the readiness of all children and I want to commend Senator Dodd for his leadership.”