Bill Barrett: “Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the conference report on S. 2000, which would reauthorize the Head Start, Community…”

“Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the conference report on S. 2000, which would reauthorize the Head Start, Community Services Block Grant, and the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance programs. I do, however, have some concerns with a couple of provisions in the conference report. I am concerned with expanding Head Start to serve children from 0 to 3 years of age. The conference report, I fear, takes a head strong plunge into providing more services to infants and toddlers without first taking a cautious and realistic review of how this expansion may affect current Head Start programs. It would be a shame that in the rush to provide more services to needy children and families, we may be jeopardizing other needy families that may benefit from excellent Head Start programs today. Mr. Speaker, I will be requesting the General Accounting Office [GAO] to study the impact that the 0 to 3 initiative might have on current programs, and what factors should be considered by the Department of Health and Human Services, as it implements the initiative.”