On the recordMarch 3, 2011
We need to address our long-term deficit. We all know that. We need to make some hard choices to balance the budget. But there is a right way and a wrong way to do that. The right way is to first look at things such as eliminating the billions of dollars in duplicative programs that were identified just this week by the GAO. The wrong way is to address the deficit by doing what our colleagues in the House did when they slashed funding for services that are critical to middle-class families and our future prosperity. The House Republican budget cuts include a $1.1 billion cut to Head Start and childcare. This is money that is critical to so many working families in New Hampshire and across the country. Let me put it into perspective. A cut this size would mean that nationally over 200,000 children would be kicked out of Head Start and an additional 360,000 children would lose childcare opportunities. I have three daughters and seven grandchildren. So I understand, like so many mothers do, how difficult it is to juggle work and family obligations.
