William Ford: “Mr. Speaker, this past winter was devastatingly cold across a large swath of our country. So cold, that many States were…”

“Mr. Speaker, this past winter was devastatingly cold across a large swath of our country. So cold, that many States were on the verge of running out of funding for their Low Income Home Energy Assistance Programs [LIHEAP] long before the end of the cold weather. The LIHEAP program provides critical assistance for our elderly, disabled, and low-income working families so they can keep their homes adequately heated. That is why I strongly support the reauthorization of LIHEAP and wholeheartedly agree with the language in the LIHEAP reauthorization conference report before us that expresses the sense of Congress that maintaining LIHEAP should be a high priority, and that all fiscal year 1995 appropriations for LIHEAP should be expended. I also want to express my strong support for the Head Start reauthorization contained in the conference report. This program, whose father, Dr. Ed Zigler, hails from my congressional district, enjoys broad support within Congress--and for good reason. It provides our most vulnerable preschool children with a chance to begin their education ready and able to learn. I am pleased the conference report makes needed improvements in Head Start, such as staff improvements and program quality, expansion, and review initiatives.”