Rep. Johnson Celebrates 50th Anniversary of Head Start

Statement

Rep. Hank Johnson (GA-04) this week released this statement on the 50th anniversary of the launch of Head Start, which provides early childhood education to millions of American families:

"Head Start has served over 30 million children and their families in urban and rural areas all over the country. Head Start promotes school readiness of young children from low-income families through partnerships in their local community. In addition, Head Start programs provide children and their families health, nutrition, social, and other services vital to early childhood development.

"Nothing has better returns than our investments in education, from early childhood through lifetime learning. The Head Start Program currently serves over 24,000 Georgia families by providing children with quality education early on in their development. Affordable, accessible education is essential for succeeding in the American economy and every child in America should be afforded an equal opportunity to succeed, regardless of what neighborhood they live in or how much money their parents make.

"The current FY 2016 Republican Budget cuts non-defense funding by $759 billion, and will result in Head Start serving 35,000 fewer children nationally. Head Start has a proven track record of success over the last fifty years and now is not the time to disinvest in our children's' futures. I call on my Republican colleagues to abandon their plan to cut funding for Head Start and work with House Democrats to close the educational opportunity gap."

Source