Barbara Mikulski

I introduced two bills that will help make quality early learning opportunities available to every child in America.

We want to be able to use our money wisely and continue, really, American exceptionalism.

What I hope to be able to do is on this area of early childhood education and whatever the bills, whatever the approach is, to build a bipartisan consensus.

I am going to be introducing my Ready to Learn Act which creates a new grant program in ESEA to fund high quality pre-kindergarten opportunities.

It is really the economics of this.

I believe that there would be consensus within the committee and within the Senate.

I hope that we can hear more about what the Administration intends for those grant awards from you today, Dr. Lombardi.

There is significant evidence that says early childhood education pays the bill.

And of course our friend, Senator Casey, introduced some important legislation yesterday.

Investing in high-quality early learning opportunities such as child care and pre-K sets children on the path to success.

I recently introduced the LEARN Act which is a program to provide Federal support for comprehensive State and local literacy programs.

If I hold a hearing on that are you ready to come in and talk----

I can't thank you more for making this the topic of our initial hearings and I look forward to working with you this Congress.

We have to find a way to live within our means and cut the excesses and the unnecessary.

I want to thank Senator Franken who also had a particular interest in this issue and who is one of the prime movers in encouraging the subcommittee to have this hearing.

We are also looking for Senator Franken to ask his questions.

I think it is time for us to get our priorities right.

I don't know of any mother in America that says, 'Oh my kid is going to go to an unquality childcare thing.'

We need to just look at what we pay now, so we don't pay later.

I think those are three excellent ones.

I appreciate the subcommittee's support for early childhood programs and the opportunity to address you today.

I think we can do better without necessarily having to enact new laws.

Senator Mikulski, at a previous hearing referred to them as bounty hunters and she was more right than I think anyone realized.

I think we need to look at the niche that they fill and examine what other institutions could fill that niche.

Thanks to an amendment by Senators Sherrod Brown, Bennet, Franken and Mikulski, the Bureau will include a Private Education Loan Ombudsman.