NHSA Government Affairs Updates 
NHSA's Government Affairs Update is now included in the bi-weekly electronic publication News You Can Use, providing comprehensive, timely, and insightful information on legislative issues facing Head Start.
News You Can Use Issues are here.
08/04/2011
Government Affairs Update Week of August 4, 2011
The big news out of Washington this week is that Congress and the White House finally came to an agreement on raising the federal debt ceiling and managing the federal budget. If you haven't read it yet, please click here to see NHSA Executive Director Yasmina Vinci's statement on the debt ceiling/deficit reduction agreement. Below are more details on the agreement, how it impacts Head Start, and what you can do to support Head Start!
Details06/26/2011
Government Affairs Update Week of June 27, 2011
Senate Subcommittee Holds Hearing on Quality Early Education
Senators Franken, Casey, and Snowe Author Letter Supporting Head Start
4th of July Advocacy Activities
Post Your Comments About the Race to the Top-Early Learning Challenge
Details05/31/2011
GAD Update Week of May 31, 2011
House of Representatives Appropriations Committee Releases Funding Limits and Timeline;
NHSA Submits Written Testimony to the Senate Appropriations Committee;
Representatives Send Letter in Support of Head Start to Chairman Rehberg;
Department of Education and Department of Health and Human Services Announces $500 million for Race to the Top-Early Learning Challenge.
Details03/11/2011
Government Affairs Update Week of March 11, 2011
The Good News:
The U.S. Senate rejected HR1, the House bill that would have cut more than 218,000 children from Head Start and eliminate 55,000 jobs.
The Bad News:
An alternative Senate bill, which would have preserved funding for Head Start, was also rejected.
Moving forward:
Negotiations over federal spending will continue among Senate leadership, Vice President Biden, and House leadership. It is important to note that both the House and Senate must act on federal spending prior to March 18th, 2011 in order to avoid a federal government shut down. It is uncertain whether they will come to an agreement, extend the deadline, or shut down the government.
02/13/2011
Congress Proposes Huge Cuts
Last week, the US House of Representatives introduced H.R. 1 which would fund the Federal government for the remaining 6 months of FY 2011 by slashing funding for many key programs. This included a drastic nearly 25 percent cut to Head Start programs that would result in more than 200,000 children losing services and more than 50,000 Head Start employees losing their jobs. The US House will be debating this bill over the next week and then the US Senate will look at it in the following weeks.
Details