Senate Could Move on Head Start Reauthorization as Soon as Late March; Budget Resolutions Marked Up in Committee Week of March 7 (February 17, 2005)

Head Start Reauthorization Update
Congress will soon begin work on Head Start reauthorization. While it is typical for the House of Representatives to move legislation before the Senate, we are now getting some indications that the Senate will begin drafting reauthorization legislation before the House, possibly as soon as the end of March or the beginning of April.

The Committee that will begin working on the Senate reauthorization bill will include members of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee. Here is a complete listing of its members:

Republicans	Democrats
Sen. Judd Gregg (N.H.)	Sen. Edward Kennedy ( Mass. )
Sen. Bill Frist (Tenn.)	Sen. Christopher Dodd ( Conn. )
Sen. Lamar Alexander (Tenn.)	Sen. Tom Harkin (Iowa)
Sen. Richard Burr (N.C.)	Sen. Barbara Mikulski ( Md. )
Sen. Johnny Isakson (Ga.)	Sen. Jim Jeffords (I-Vt.)
Sen. Mike DeWine ( Ohio )	Sen. Jeff Bingaman (N.M.)
Sen. John Ensign (Nev.)	Sen. Patty Murray ( Wash. )
Sen. Orrin Hatch (Utah)	Sen. Jack Reed (R.I.)
Sen. Jeff Sessions (Ala.)	Sen. Hillary Clinton (N.Y.)
Sen. Pat Roberts (Kan.)

What is the starting point for the Senate bill?
Staffers on the Hill tell us that the Senate HELP Committee will likely use last year’s Senate bill (S. 1940) as their starting point. This means that the bill is unlikely to include block grants or the faith-based discrimination language contained in the House bill but will include …

Some form of re-competition language.
An increase in teacher degrees so that 50 percent of teachers will need to have a B.A. degree. However, the Senate bill does not include any new dollars for teachers to go back to school.
Prescriptive outcome measures for children to meet.
Tough language on under-enrollment.
Cuts to the training and technical assistance system and restrictions on the use of the funds to travel to national training conferences.
An increase in the income eligibility guidelines from 100 percent to 130 percent of the poverty level.
A Center of Excellence Proposal.
Expansion of the state collaboration office and the creation of state advisory councils.
No halt to the NRS.

NHSA is now working with members of our community to develop appropriate language for the Senate bill. We hope changes will be made to the bill so that it becomes a piece of legislation that benefits Head Start and the children and families it serves rather than hurts them. There is some sense that the re-competition language could be improved and efforts are underway to put in funding for teachers to earn their degrees, fix the outcomes language, and put a halt to NRS in the bill. We are also on the lookout for any attempt to add in language on block granting and employment/religious discrimination found in the House bill.

If you have thoughts on the Senate bill, please e-mail Joel Ryan at jryan@nhsa.org. NHSA will be setting up state conference calls with key Senate target states in the next week or two.

Specific Action Steps for the Senate Bill
If your state has a senator on the HELP Committee, please begin to educate them about key issues including …

Block granting.
Problems with re-competing the grants of all Head Start programs rather than targeting only poorly performing programs. Explain the effect this would this have on a program. Ask if they know how much it would it cost to re-compete a program’s grant. Give them an idea of the services that would be disrupted.
The need to halt the NRS through the Senate bill.
Why the prescriptive outcomes language should not be in the Senate bill (especially when it is not scientifically based).
The fact that the Senate bill includes new requirements for teacher degrees but no new funding to pay teachers a fair wage.

During next week’s congressional recess, state associations have a wonderful opportunity to make sure their HELP Committee senator visits a program or meets with state association representatives. Please take advantage of the opportunities presented throughout the month of March to connect with your key senators. They are often at home during the weekends and on Mondays and Fridays.

Budget Moves to Committees on March 7
NHSA met with key budget and leadership aides on the budget process and learned that Sen. Judd Gregg (R-N.H.) and Rep. Jim Nussle (R-Iowa) don’t believe that the president’s budget cuts go far enough. During the week of March 7, the budget committees in the House and the Senate plan on marking up their respective budget resolutions. These resolutions will become blueprints for the appropriation committees and will cap spending on domestic programs. It cannot be overemphasized that the budget is about making the right choices. Don’t believe anyone who says that flat funding Head Start and child care or cutting $60 billion from Medicaid is necessary. The truth is that the president’s budget includes another round of tax cuts totaling $1.6 trillion — most of which will go to the wealthiest one percent of Americans. Programs must make their local member of Congress understand the enormous impact that budget cuts will have on their programs. From a sampling of the surveys you sent to NHSA, it is clear that programs will have to layoff staff, cut benefits, curtail transportation services, and possibly reduce the number of children being served. Your member of Congress needs to know this. They also need to know that they will be held responsible for voting for a budget that is morally indefensible. Once state associations receive completed state surveys on the budget cuts, we ask that the state association forward tabulated information to your congressional delegation and to Joel Ryan at jryan@nhsa.org so we can both make use of them.

Take Action on the Budget
There are two specific steps everyone should take to beat back the budget. First, make sure you invite your member of Congress to visit your local Head Start program. While it may be too late to set up a visit next week, you may still be able to schedule a meeting in your local district office or attend a town hall forum. To find out about town hall forums or your member of Congress’s office hours, contact the scheduler in their D.C. office or go to their Web site where that information is often available. Second, be sure to continue to make calls on the budget. Tell your member of Congress that you oppose cutting funding for programs that help low-income children and families. Remind them that children should be a priority in any budget. Remember to contact the scheduler or the legislative assistant who handles Head Start. Dial the Capitol switchboard at (202) 224-3121 and ask to be transferred to your member’s office.

NHSA Partners with Voices for America’s Children
NHSA is working with an array of child advocacy organizations to fight the budget cuts being proposed by the President. Recently, we joined a coalition organized by Voices for America’s Children to put a human face on the proposed cuts to children’s programs. They have produced a very powerful short film which you can view right now and send to friends:

More Budget Resources for You

To see which programs are slated for elimination, go to:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/budget/fy2006/pdf/savings.pdf

To see a great analysis on the budget from the United Way , go to:
http://www.policyalmanac.org/elists/viewtopic.php?t=140

For the latest from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, go to:
http://www.cbpp.org/2-9-05bud.htm

For the Democratic Analysis of the Budget, go to:
http://www.house.gov/budget_democrats/analyses/FY06budget_analysis.pdf

For the Republican Budget Analysis, go to:
http://www.house.gov/budget/

Remember, this document is paid for by the Dollar per Child Campaign! To get involved, contact Erika Argersinger, NHSA’s associate director of Government Affairs at eargersinger@nhsa.org or by phone at (703) 299-7509. Erika will be happy to talk to you about how to get your campaign up and running.