Dan Coats: “allow me to thank my colleagues for their kind words and also for their assistance. At a time when our two parties are…”

“allow me to thank my colleagues for their kind words and also for their assistance. At a time when our two parties are often divided over issues, major issues, this is truly a bipartisan effort. This is something that could not have been achieved without the cooperation, support, help and assistance of people on both sides of the aisle. I thank the chairman and Senator Kennedy for their work with us on this. I thank my counterpart on the Children and Families Subcommittee, Senator Dodd; Senator Gregg has been a supporter of this effort, and others on the committee who have worked hard and worked diligently with us to bring us to this particular point. Each of the four programs that are encompassed in this bill represent an all too rare occurrence--a forging of public and private partnership to combat the effects of poverty and unleashing the vast resources of one of our most important assets, the local community. The first component of this bill is the reauthorization of Head Start, a program that has proven to be significant in providing an opportunity for children to realize their full potential.”