Karen Shepherd: “Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 2339, and I am pleased that this bill will pass the House today without…”

“Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 2339, and I am pleased that this bill will pass the House today without controversy, as it should. With the Chairman's permission, I would like to highlight an important section of this bill which has a direct impact on my district in Salt Lake City. In a wise move, Congress recently changed the Federal regulations for the Head Start Program to enable local Head Start centers to use Federal funds to purchase their facilities. In light of the low interest rates and rapidly rising rents in many communities, including Salt Lake City, this was a cost-effective and farsighted change in regulations. A Head Start center in my district had already saved taxpayers $100,000 by purchasing a building before the law was changed. Instead of being praised for good work, they were being sued by HHS for making the change too soon. Unfortunately, the Head Start Program in Utah has had to suffer through a prolonged and expensive court battle as a result of their inadvertent mistake. No more. Last year Senator Orrin Hatch and I joined forces to solve this problem. The bill before us today will suspend the legal proceedings against the Salt Lake Head Start center and allow them to purchase their facility. It is an example of how Congress can help strengthen our communities and improve the lives of our children, while saving taxpayer dollars at the same time.”