William Bradley: “for years now, I have risen before this body and others to speak out about the desperate condition facing urban America…”

“for years now, I have risen before this body and others to speak out about the desperate condition facing urban America and the crisis facing our urban communities, our families, and our children. While we can wallow in our frustration over decreased funding and our inability to solve the complex problems of violence, poverty, joblessness, and lack of opportunity that continue to hover over our cities, today is not the day to do that. Today is a day to recognize the programs that do work. Head Start and the other community development programs authorized in the Human Services Reauthorization Act of 1994, are well-tested programs that work to strengthen children, families and communities; they should not be abandoned. These programs have survived because they represent the barest of safety nets: they protect, stimulate, and nourish our children so that they start school ready to learn; they provide support services to struggling families; and they invest in community initiatives. All of these are indeed, worthy. In this day and age, no group is more vulnerable than children to the pressures of the city. Before they are old enough to know that life can be better, children in our inner cities awake to the presence of drugs, crime, guns, and violence. We know we are losing the game when in 1990, 20 percent of infants and toddlers lived in poverty.…”