ADVOCACY

NHSA Prepares to Face Bush Administration Next Year (11/17/2004)

Moving Forward After the Election
We would like to extend our warmest thanks to everyone in the Head Start community for their work on voter registration and Getting out the Vote. Parents, staff, and friends of Head Start registered thousands of new voters and our efforts were successful in getting our folks to the polls and empowering low-income families around the country. Once again thanks for all your work! NHSA cannot say when Congress will take up a new reauthorization bill, but it is safe to say that at least by early spring a bill will move in the House of Representatives if not sooner. What will the bill look like? This, too, is difficult to say, but we are likely to see some form of block grants and/or possibly waivers or even vouchers. Unlike last year, where the Senate could be expected to moderate the radical proposals of the House, the Senate is now more firmly in Republican control with a 55 to 45 advantage. With this new political climate, we clearly have two choices: we can let ourselves be rolled over by the new majority, or we can move forward and fight with political savvy and every bit of energy we have to save this terrific program for this generation and the next. Last year, even though the odds were against us, we won. And we are going to do it again! Let’s move forward with the realization that if we stand together and stick to our beliefs, there is nothing that we can’t achieve.

Let Your Member of Congress See You in Action
As NHSA prepares for the next round of reauthorization, there is one really critical action you should take before the new Congress returns in late January —invite your member of Congress to visit your program. This is the most effective next step you can take. In order to set up a visit, please do the following:

1. Contact the scheduler in your member of Congress’s office. To reach the Capitol switchboard please dial (202) 224-3121. Ask the scheduler if the member would like to visit your program in December or early January.
2.  The scheduler will ask that you fax them a formal request in writing. Have a short one-page letter prepared and ready to go.
3.  After the visit, please report the results of the meeting to NHSA’s Government Affairs Division. You can send your comments to Joel Ryan at jryan@nhsa.org.

To make your visit especially productive, please make sure that you have brief materials prepared for the visit that provide basic information about your program and that highlight the success of your program. Make sure you have several key spokespersons (such as parents) available during the visit and be prepared to talk about the core policy agenda items, such as keeping the structure of Head Start federal to local.

Chairs of Important Committees Change Hands
Two key committees that deal with Head Start have already changed hands, and a third is under discussion. Senator Judd Gregg (R-N.H.), formerly the chair of the Senate HELP Committee (Head Start’s Reauthorization Committee), is moving over to be chair of the Budget Committee. Sen. Mike Enzi (R-Wyoming) will take his place. Sen. Thad Cochran (R-Mississippi), a good friend of Head Start, will replace Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), as chair of the Appropriations Committee. Over in the House, there is a battle to replace the chair of the Appropriations Committee, Rep. Don Young (R-Alaska). Most likely, the new chairman will be none other than Rep. Ralph Regula (R-Ohio). You may remember that Rep. Regula blocked attempts by NHSA to get more funding for the program as the chair of the Labor/HHS subcommittee. If you live in any of the states of new chairmen, please make a special effort to reach out to their offices.

NHSA Media Blitz on Budget Cuts Is Successful
NHSA was responsible for another recent media blitz concerning the cutbacks Head Start programs have had to make because of tightening budgets. The information came directly from the survey your program filled out documenting the effects of diminishing revenue. You told us that programs have had to move from full-day to part-day programming, cut back or eliminate transportation services, and even eliminate some slots. Based on our budget calculations, an estimated 8,900 children have been cut from the program from fiscal year 2002 to the present because of inadequate funding. Here’s a list of some of the articles generated from our press event around the country:

• http://www.denverpost.com/Stories/0,1413,36~53~2514625,00.html
• http://www.kcrg.com/article.aspx?art_id=91612&cat_id=123
• http://www.texarkanagazette.com/articles/2004/10/28/local_news/news/news21.txt
• http://www.thetimesonline.com/articles/2004/11/15/news/top_news/ace6fd4088d3778086256f4c007e8ec6.txt  
• http://www.dailydem.com/articles/2004/11/15/news/news2.txt

We are still hearing various rumors that an omnibus budget bill (all the bills jammed together) will emerge at the end of this week. It is very likely that any budget bill may include an across-the-board cut in domestic spending and thus affect Head Start funding as well. We have also heard that an agreement on reauthorizing IDEA could come in this week. When we have more information about the budget bill, we will let you know immediately.

New Member Joins GAD
NHSA is excited to introduce you to the latest member of the GAD team. Erika Argersinger is the new associate director of GAD. She is taking over for Brocklin Qualls who recently became a Head Start director in North Carolina. Erika comes to NHSA with a wealth of experience, including stints as a policy associate at a child care organization in Boston, as a campaign manager of a city council campaign, and as the healthy communities’ coordinator for the United Way of the Great Salt Lake Area. Erika holds a Master’s Degree in Applied Child Development and Urban Environmental Policy from Tufts University . She is responsible for assisting GAD in all areas of legislative advocacy and will also be taking over the Dollar Per Child Campaign. To contact Erika, call (703) 299-7509 or e-mail eargersinger@nhsa.org.

January Leadership Institute
While we will see many of you at the upcoming Parent Conference in December, we also want to make sure you save the dates, January 26-29, for the January Leadership Institute. You won’t want to miss the institute! Expect a congressional roundtable with key Hill staffers, a wide range of speakers from various allied organizations, a comprehensive legislative update, and opportunities to improve your leadership skills. Learn how to put together a top-notch conference. Of course, the institute could not come at a more opportune time. With the new Congress just starting up, participants will get a chance to make an educational Hill visit with their members of Congress. If you would like more information about the institute, please e-mail Erika at eargersinger@nhsa.org. An agenda should be available very shortly.