National Head Start Association

NHSA LEGISLATIVE UPDATE
WEEK OF JANUARY 2, 2009

Dear friends:

We hope you had happy holiday celebrations and wish you a wonderful new year filled with safe, happy, and healthy experiences for Head Start children, families and staff.  This week’s update includes a reminder about registering for our upcoming January Leadership Institute, an urgent request for action, and updates on current legislative news and new Members of Congress.  Please help Head Start by reading this, sharing it with others in the Head Start community, and taking action.

Also, a thank you to all who participated in our recent Parent Conference in Atlanta; we had more people in attendance than in Indianapolis.  A very special thank you to all the good folks from Atlanta who helped NHSA to make this conference such a success!

TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE NEW CONGRESS AND ADMINISTRATION

Join us January 26th through January 29th at the next NHSA Leadership Institute, entitled A New Administration, A New Congress: Head Start on the Horizon. The agenda and registration forms can be found at: http://www.nhsa.org/training/leadership/leadership_January_2009.htm.  We have a great line-up of confirmed speakers (including Rep. Mazie Hirono) and look forward to you joining us!  We’ll be discussing the Obama-Biden Early Education Plan, actions in Congress on early childhood education, highlights in the Head Start field, and more.  Don’t delay; register now to reserve your spot! 

CALL TO ACTION: URGENT REQUEST.  HELP US HELP YOU!  - Monday January 12th, 2009

Head Start Staff:  Do you need a salary increase? Has your wage kept pace with inflation? 
Including Head Start in the Economic Recovery Package would help to ensure you get one.

Head Start Directors: Do you need funds to improve the quality of your programs?
Including Head Start in the Economic Recovery Package would help to ensure quality funds flow to your program.

Head Start Parents:  Do you want more staff to work in your children’s classroom?
Including Head Start funds in the Economic Recovery Package would help to ensure that this could occur.

The time is now to request additional funding for Head Start! 
We need your help. We have limited time to act.
ACT NOW!

If we miss this unique opportunity, programs may continue to suffer the hardships you have faced over the past several years.  In January, Congress hopes to pass an Economic Recovery (“Stimulus”) Package and NHSA, along with State and Regional Head Start Associations, is working hard to ensure that Head Start is included.  This is a top priority for the Obama Administration.  It needs to be our top priority too.

We are requesting $4.3 billion dollars in the Economic Recovery Package and will be lucky to see any of it included, given how many requests Congress has received.  Help us help you:  Please ask your Head Start community to flood the House of Representatives and the Senate with emails from the www.saveheadstart.org website.  We are planning a final push day of action on Monday January 12th, 2009.  Flood Congress with emails then, but if you can’t make it that day, do it before then!   Don’t delay.

We appreciate the calls and emails to date, but we can do MUCH better.  We need at least 10,000 emails to get to the Hill.  Can you help us?  This funding will help you and may be our last real chance for a long time.

When you email via the www.saveheadstart.org website, please let Congress know:

• Head Start needs to be included in the Economic Recovery Package. 

• Head Start is an economic engine in local communities across America, creating jobs, making local expenditures for food, gas, supplies and services, as well as developing and maintaining facilities.

• If Congress is starting to weed out which programs will receive funding, Head Start needs to stay in the package by making a strong case that we are an essential community strategy for economic recovery.

• NHSA and State and Regional Associations are requesting $4.3 billion dollars for the Head Start program.

• $4.3 billion for Head Start will create more and better jobs.

• $4.3 billion for Head Start will fix buildings, buses and playgrounds

• $4.3 billion for Head Start will help more families get back to work, by ensuring that their children have safe, high-quality programs to attend during the work day

.
For further information on the action steps we need you to take, please join us on a conference call:
• Thursday January 8, 2009
• Choose either 6 pm Eastern Time or 8 pm Eastern Time (whichever you can make)
• Dial 1-888-809-4012, passcode 954372.

Don’t let Head Start down!  Help us help you.
We need to seize this moment and try to make a difference!

  
CURRENT LEGISLATIVE NEWS

New Congress to be Sworn In
The new 111th Congress convenes in early January, with new members to be sworn into office on January 6th, 2009.  All bills that had been introduced in the old Congress died with that end of that Congress, so there is much work to be done at the start of this session.  We will keep you posted about Committee assignments as we learn them.  Stay tuned!

Economic Recovery (Stimulus)
In late December, Congress continued its work on the economic recovery package (also known as the “stimulus”) that it hopes to have completed for Obama’s signature when he takes office in January.   Although the specifics are not yet being publicized, it appears so far that the package may be larger than the original $500 billion that was discussed a few months ago.  It will likely be spread over a 2-year period.  Congress will be working on drafting the package this upcoming week.  We are still working hard on your behalf to try and ensure that Head Start will be included in this economic recovery package.  Please help us by taking action as outlined in the Call to Action above.       

CURRENT ADMINISTRATION NEWS
The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee has scheduled a confirmation hearing for Senator Daschle on January 8, 2009.  Daschle was named by President-Elect Obama as his pick for Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services.  A hearing for Arne Duncan, Obama’s choice for Secretary of Education is scheduled for January 13, 2009.

     
 
NEW MEMBERS OF CONGRESS
We continue to introduce you via short bios to the new Members of Congress who were just elected—so that if you are one of their constituents, you can drop a note, make a call, and either introduce them to Head Start or encourage them to continue being Head Start champions.

Representative –Elect Jim Himes (D-CT-04) replaces Chris Shays.  A former investment banker who is bilingual in English and Spanish, Himes also ran part of an organization focusing on urban poverty.  His website states that he will “work to expand early childhood education through funding for state-based programs as well as Head Start and Early Head Start.  These investments are motivated by our best values, but they are also recommended by simple common sense: research has shown that we get a $7 return on every dollar spent on high-quality early childhood education.”  http://himesforcongress.com/site/issue/education

Representative-Elect Alan Grayson (D-FL-08) replaces Ric Keller.  Prior to joining Congress, he was an attorney and telecommunications businessman.  His website states that in Congress, Grayson will “increase funding for early education programs.” http://www.graysonforcongress.com/page.asp?PageId=52  

Senator-Elect Jim Risch (D-ID) replaces Larry Craig.  Prior to joining the Senate, Risch was Idaho’s Lieutenant Governor and even served briefly as Governor when the sitting governor resigned to serve as a member of President Bush’s cabinet.   He is a small business owner, rancher and attorney.   His website, http://risch4idaho.com/home.html, does not mention Head Start or early childhood education.

Representative Elect Lynn Jenkins (R-KS-02) replaces Nancy Boyda.  Prior to joining the House of Representatives, she was the Kansas state treasurer and is a CPA.  Her website, http://www.lynnjenkins.com/inner.asp?z=3#Education,  states that “Educating our next generation is a monumentally important task. There are always improvements to be made and accountability to be had.  The website does not mention early childhood education or Head Start specifically.

Representative-Elect Brett Guthrie (R-KY-03) replaces retiring Ron Lewis.  Prior to joining the House of Representatives, Guthrie helped run a family manufacturing business and was a state Senator with a seat on the education committee.  His website does not mention Head Start or early childhood education.    http://guthrieforcongress.com/

DOLLAR PER CHILD
Thanks to all of you who have sent in your donations for the 2008 Dollar Per Child campaign. Your donations are vital for supporting our advocacy efforts and ensuring that the Head Start community is heard.  Please continue to mail your donation checks to NHSA Dollar Per Child Campaign, P.O. Box 890080, Charlotte, NC 28289-0080. Be sure to note which program, state, or region your donation is representing.

If you have questions about the contents of this Legislative Update, please contact Michael McGrady at mmcgrady@nhsa.org.

This Legislative E-Update has been sent to Head Start directors, the NHSA Board, HeadStartState and Regional Association presidents, executive directors, and parents. Please share it with others in your network.