[Pages S14375-S14387]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

IMPROVING HEAD START FOR SCHOOL READINESS ACT OF 2007--CONFERENCE
REPORT

The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under the previous order, the Senate will now
proceed to the consideration of the conference report to accompany H.R.
1429, which the clerk will report by title.

[[Page S14376]]

The legislative clerk read as follows:

The committee of conference on the disagreeing votes of the
two Houses on the amendment of the Senate to the bill (H.R.
1429) to reauthorize the Head Start Act, to improve program
quality, to expand access, and for other purposes, having
met, have agreed that the House recede from its disagreement
to the amendment of the Senate and agree to the same with an
amendment and the Senate agree to the same, signed by a
majority of the conferees on the part of both Houses.

(The conference report is printed in the House proceedings of the
Record of Friday, November 9, 2007.)
The PRESIDING OFFICER. There will be 60 minutes of debate equally
divided.
The Senator from Massachusetts.
Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, I thank my friend and colleague, the
Senator from Wyoming, Mr. Enzi, for his strong advocacy and extremely
effective work on this legislation. I also thank the staff of the HELP
committee for their work on this important piece of legislation. This
is an important moment in the Senate because this reauthorization of
Head Start focuses on the most vulnerable members of society, the
children, and it delivers a message of hope for these children and
their families.
HELP Committee members are extremely involved and active in all the
matters that come before our committee, but never more than on issues
of education and early childhood development. We have before us
legislation that reflects a coming together of both parties and both
chambers of Congress to address the needs of children in our society.
Reflected in this legislation are the interest of some of those who
aren't with us physically, colleagues who are involved in the
Presidential campaign. Senator Dodd, who has been a longtime leader in
the Senate on children and children's interests, has had important
suggestions and recommendations. Barack Obama has followed this process
very closely and has been in frequent communication with us. Senator
Clinton has been very much involved in crafting this legislation, as
well as a number of other pieces of legislation we approved in the
committee earlier today.
We welcome an overwhelming vote this afternoon. There was an
overwhelmingly bipartisan vote in the House of Representatives, 381 to
36. I am hopeful we will have a similar expression of support in the
Senate.
We have an hour. I know I have several colleagues who want to talk. I
will yield myself 12 minutes. I don't know how much I have used so far.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator has used 3\1/2\ minutes. Is that
another 12 on top of the 3\1/2\?
Mr. KENNEDY. No, a total of 12. If the Chair will let me know when I
have a minute and a half, I would appreciate that.
Planning for Head Start began in the early 1960s, before we knew all
that we know today about how to best intervene and support the lives of
young children living in poverty. At that time, as Attorney General, my
brother Robert Kennedy decided to tackle the problem of juvenile
delinquency. Research pointed to poverty as the root of the Nation's
social and economic challenges. It was agreed that a strategy based on
early education could be a significant part of the answer.
In August 1964, President Johnson and Congress launched the war on
poverty by passing the Economic Opportunity Act. The Nation's poor
numbered 10 million, with nearly half under the age of 12.
In the fall of that year, my brother-in-law, Sargent Shriver,
convened a panel of experts in child development, education, public
health, and social work to lay a foundation for the Head Start program.
He envisioned a bold national commitment to prepare our neediest
children for kindergarten and first grade. He conferred with experts
like Dr. Edward Zigler, who is still a vigorous, forceful advocate for
children, and they agreed that a comprehensive approach was needed.
Preschool was the centerpiece of the plan, but a major emphasis was
placed on health care and parent involvement, too.
The following year, Head Start came into being as an 8-week summer
program. With the help of thousands of volunteers, it served 560,000
children through preschool classes, medical and dental care, and health
services. Over the years, it would reach over 24 million.
Today the face of poverty and of America's neediest families has
changed. The American workplace has changed, and our education system
is being challenged to keep up with the global economy. Head Start has
always adapted, finding new ways to respond to the demands on low-
income, working families. But its mission has remained the same--to
help our most vulnerable children succeed in school and in life.
When parents are asked what they most want to accomplish in life,
their answer undoubtedly includes a desire to open the doors of
opportunity for their children. They want a fair chance for their
children to grow up in a healthy and safe environment, to graduate from
high school and go on to college, and to achieve the American dream.
That dream should be available to every child in America. But far too
often, families are still struggling to put food on the table, buy
clothes for their children, pay the rent, or see a doctor. Poverty is
again on the rise. Today, one out of every five children in America
grows up poor.
Poverty has many dimensions. It is a labor issue, because pay is so
low and workers are exploited. It is a civil rights issue, because so
many African American and Latino families are often the ones left
behind. It is a health care issue, because the health care that
families in poverty receive is so substandard. Most of all, it is a
children's issue, because the children of the poor have done nothing
wrong. But they still pay the price.
It is our responsibility as a Nation to help those in need. The
Federal bedrock of that commitment is Head Start. It has always been an
important symbol of our responsibility to others. At its core are the
values that shaped our democracy: Equity, opportunity, community
empowerment, and economic progress.
Head Start is based on the premise that education is the key to the
future and to breaking down the destructive forces of poverty.

It provides the starting point for a child's day, with a healthy meal
each morning and a promise to parents that while they are at work and
balancing two jobs, their children will see a doctor and dentist, and
receive immunizations.
It provides children with the building blocks they need to enter
school ready to learn. It teaches the social and emotional skills
needed by children to pay attention in the classroom and get along well
with others. It expands their vocabulary, gets them excited about
reading, and teaches them to count.
It welcomes parents into its programs, gives them opportunities to
make decisions about their child's learning and development, and
sometimes helps families find a roof for over their head.
Over the years, with each new educational and developmental advance
in research, we have learned more about how Head Start can be improved.
And with that learning, modifications have been made to enable the
program to be even more effective.
In 1972, the Child Development Associate program was established, to
provide a standard of quality for Head Start teachers and aides.
In 1974, the reauthorization of Head Start established the
comprehensive Program Performance Standards to guide Head Start centers
in providing essential educational, health, and social services, and
achieving parental involvement. The reauthorization also paved the way
for a network of training and technical assistance activities to help
Head Start agencies enhance the quality of their programs.
In the 1980s and early 1990s, the Indian and Migrant Head Start
programs were formed, and family service centers were established to
combat illiteracy, substance abuse, and unemployment in Head Start
communities. At that time, Head Start also began its important focus on
improving transitions for preschool children to public schools.
In 1994, we created Early Head Start to serve low-income infants and
toddlers in the first 3 years of their development. That legislation
also led to the development of improved performance measures to assess
outcomes in Head Start and new guidelines for monitoring Head Start
programs.

[[Page S14377]]

The current reauthorization applies the lessons learned from the past
with the new knowledge of child development and early education to
enable Head Start to be even more successful in the years ahead.
There is no question that Head Start is effective. Our own federally
mandated study of Head Start found that it expands children's
vocabularies, and makes the greatest difference for those with the
greatest needs. Head Start improves children's writing skills, and
helps children grow in their social skills and behavior.
By the time Head Start children complete their kindergarten year,
their skills and developmental abilities are near the national average,
with scores of 99 in early literacy, 98 in early writing, 95 in early
math, and 95 in vocabulary.
We are talking about the most disadvantaged children in America. They
are often well behind in terms of their ability to enter school ready
to start. Look at the results at the end of kindergarten. Head Start
children catch up to their peers, to the national norm. It brings the
children up so, hopefully, we will be, as a country and society, more
equitable, more fair.
This reauthorization maintains high standards and comprehensive
services in Head Start. It upgrades educational components of the
program, and ensures that it delivers the skills and support that
children need to succeed in kindergarten and the early grades. It
promotes greater partnerships between Head Start programs and local
schools, and ensures that services continue to be framed by the highly
effective Head Start Child Outcomes Framework. It also provides a
needed bridge for parents to their local schools, to promote greater
coordination and ease the transition of children from preschool to
kindergarten.
We also terminate the flawed National Reporting System, and ensure
that new educational standards and measures used in Head Start will be
informed by the National Academy of Sciences. Two years ago, the
Government Accountability Office confirmed many of our long-standing
concerns with this assessment, concluding that the test is not valid to
make determinations about programs and students. The study also
confirmed that the test was inconsistent with nationally-recognized
testing standards, and unclear in its purpose.
This reauthorization ensures that any assessments used in Head Start
will be valid and reliable, fair to children from all backgrounds, and
measure the whole child. Head Start children and their families deserve
nothing less.
Head Start teachers and staff are the heart and future of the
program. They help children learn to identify letters and arrange the
pieces of puzzles. They teach them to brush their teeth, wash their
hands, make friends, and follow rules.
This reauthorization sets important and unprecedented goals for
enhancing the skills and qualifications of Head Start teachers and
staff. In this reauthorization, we are striving to help all teachers
earn their associate's degree over the next 6 years, help half of all
teachers in Head Start earn their bachelor's degree, and help all
assistant teachers work toward completing a CDA or another early
education credential.

These are ambitious goals. But we know that learning and development
of young children require good teachers and that there is a strong link
between educational qualifications and the quality of programs.
The quality of a program doesn't just depend on the educational
background of its teachers, which is why we are also calling for
professional development and a career advancement plan for every Head
Start employee including family service workers, assistant teachers,
and curriculum coordinators. We have established new partnerships to
increase staff in Head Start who are prepared to serve the diverse
children enrolled in the programs.
Most of all, we have worked to ensure that Head Start agencies have a
dedicated stream of funds to provide needed training for teachers. The
reauthorization dedicates $2 million this year to local training and
improvement efforts, much of which will be used to improve and
strengthen the Head Start workforce. We commit to confronting the
persistent challenge of compensating Head Start teachers as the
professionals that they are. Head Start teachers earn half the salary
of kindergarten teachers, and turnover is about 11 percent per year.
This conference report commits 40 percent of new funds in Head Start
to program quality and teacher salaries, to do more to attract and
retain caring and committed leaders. It ensures that each Head Start
Center will receive an annual cost-of-living increase to keep up with
the rising costs of operation and overhead.
We grant additional flexibility in this reauthorization for Head
Start to serve thousands of additional low-income children in need, by
including families just above the Federal poverty level. It is
essential for Head Start to prioritize its services to the neediest
families in their communities. But this new flexibility enables those
living near poverty and earning less than what they need to get by to
receive assistance too. It is the right thing to do, and it is what
Head Start is all about.
The reauthorization also makes a long-overdue commitment to expanding
Head Start programs in Indian country, and programs for migrant and
seasonal farmworkers. By reserving up to $20 million annually to expand
services in these programs, we can hopefully reach an additional 5,500
migrant children and an additional 5,100 Native American children
living in poverty. New provisions are also included to enhance services
for homeless children, children who are English language learners, and
children with disabilities in order to ensure that these populations
receive the care and attention they deserve.
Accountability is a cornerstone of excellence and should start early.
Head Start should be accountable for its commitment to provide safe and
healthy learning environments, to support each child's individual
pattern of development and learning, to build community partnerships in
services to children, and to involve parents in their child's growth.
This reauthorization makes significant progress in increasing
accountability and investing in excellence in Head Start. It continues
the comprehensive monitoring that has become a hallmark of Head Start,
and ensures that reviews are fair and balanced in order to account for
challenges and strengths in programs. It also establishes a new system
for the designation of Head Start grants, to be phased in over the next
several years.
We know that the vast majority of Head Start programs provide
outstanding services--fewer than 20 percent of programs are found to be
deficient each year. But where serious deficiencies exist, we must see
that substantial problems do not languish at the expense of children.
If a local program is unable to meet Head Start's high standards of
quality, timely action should be taken. This new system will facilitate
accountability and funding decisions, and do so in a manner that is
transparent, fair, and responsive to the local needs of families and
children.
We have established greater accountability for enrollment in programs
and delineated a clear system of governance in Head Start.
The reauthorization also takes important steps to expand Early Head
Start. Since its inception, results have proven that Early Head Start
is one of the most effective programs of the Department of Health and
Human Services. In this legislation, we improve the training and
assistance network serving Early Head Start and guarantee a dedicated
expert in each State to work with programs to meet the needs of infants
and toddlers. We also expand the screening available to infants exposed
to trauma, violence, or other circumstances detrimental to their
development. We commit to expanding Early Head Start to serve an
additional 8,000 low-income infants and toddlers over the next 5 years.
As in elementary and secondary education, reform in early childhood
education requires resources. Today, half of all children eligible for
Head Start have no access to it. Early Head Start however, serves only
3 percent of eligible infants and toddlers--we leave behind a shameful
97 percent.
When Sargent Shriver discussed the war on poverty, he said ``You have
to put immense resources into winning a

[[Page S14378]]

war.'' He was right, and he wasn't talking about wars like Iraq. He was
talking about the war on poverty. This conference report increases
authorizations for Head Start to $7.3 billion in fiscal year 2008, $7.6
billion in fiscal year 2009, and $7.9 billion in fiscal year 2010. On a
bipartisan basis, the conferees have signaled a commitment to invest
more in our youngest children, and to assist Head Start in responding
to the changing and evolving needs of the communities it serves.
Research shows that the first 5 years of life make an immense
difference for a child. Those who attend high-quality early education
programs are more likely to do well when they reach elementary school,
are less likely to be held back a grade, and are more likely to
graduate from high school and go on to college.

Our Federal investment in early childhood education clearly pays
off-- for every dollar invested in high-quality early education, there
is a 16 dollar return later in life.
All children--regardless of their background--deserve to learn and
develop. We need to strengthen early childhood for young children, in
order to help them succeed later in school and in life.
A comprehensive curriculum and a stable and well-qualified workforce
are cornerstones of a good early education. I am especially pleased
that this reauthorization of Head Start includes a blueprint to
strengthen the array of early childhood programs and services for young
children.
The bill establishes an Early Childhood Advisory Council to examine
needs of early childhood programs, develop a plan to improve
professional development, upgrade standards, enhance collaboration
among programs, and improve data collection.
More than 40 States have early learning standards in place or under
development. States such as Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Illinois
have developed the systems needed to improve program quality and expand
access to programs in the early years. We need to build on that
progress. States that are ready to take on the challenge of
implementing needed improvements in their early education programs will
qualify for incentive grants to get such improvements under way.
One of our highest priorities in Congress is to expand educational
opportunities for every American. In this age of globalization, every
citizen deserves a chance to acquire the skills needed to compete in
the modern economy. That challenge begins at birth, and accelerates in
the early years of life well before children even begin kindergarten.
This reauthorization helps us reach this essential goal. It keeps
Head Start on its successful path, and enables it to continue to thrive
and improve.
We still haven't won the war on poverty in America. But thanks to
Head Start, we are getting closer. Day by day, and one child at a time.
This conference report continues that indispensable progress, and I
urge my colleagues to approve it.
Mr. President, we have others who desire to speak at this time. I
will have a chance with the remaining time, perhaps, to get into some
of the additional items.
Mr. President, I reserve the remainder of my time.
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from Wyoming.
Mr. ENZI. Mr. President, I thank Senator Kennedy for that excellent
recap of what has taken us months, in fact, years to get done.
I am pleased after many years of false starts, we have finally
reached agreement on Head Start reauthorization. This conference
agreement is a bipartisan, bicameral effort that focuses on improving
the lives of low-income children and their families. We need to ensure
that children, regardless of their circumstances, have the opportunity
to get the preparation they need to enter school ready to learn and be
successful.
The Head Start Program was established in 1965 as part of the war on
poverty to level the playing field for low-income children. The purpose
of the program was, and remains, to provide educational and other
developmental services to children in very low income families. It
recognizes that children do not start school with the same set of
experiences or knowledge. Head Start programs provide low-income
children with a solid base of experiences and knowledge that enables
them to start their elementary school experience on par with their more
affluent peers.
Since its creation, Head Start has been a comprehensive, early
childhood development program that provides educational, health,
nutritional, social, and other services to low-income, preschool-aged
children and their families. Head Start currently provides services to
over 900,000 children and their families through a network of over
1,600 public and private agencies. This program also recognizes the
important role that families play in a child's development and
encourages their regular participation in the program.
I do thank Senator Kennedy and Congressman Miller for their
commitment to working together on a bipartisan basis. That commitment
has resulted in a conference report that meets the needs of children
and families who participate in Head Start programs throughout our
Nation. I also thank my other colleagues, particularly Senators
Alexander and Dodd, and Congressmen McKeon, Kildee, and Castle, for
their fine work and dedication to this important legislation.
The conference agreement before us today builds off legislation we
developed last Congress when I was chairman of the HELP Committee.
Senator Kennedy agreed to use that legislation as the base for this
year's bill to build on the bipartisan support it had received. Senator
Kennedy and I understand that to get anything done, especially in the
Senate, you have to have bipartisan support.
Years ago, I established an ``80-percent rule'' to help guide my work
in committee and on the Senate floor. It means that 80 percent of what
Congress works on we agree to. The other 20 percent is the stuff we may
never agree on. But that is what always seems to get the attention. I
do think we do our best work when we focus on the 80 percent.
Legislation seems to move more quickly when we work together in a
bipartisan way.
I am pretty certain people in Massachusetts are cringing, and people
in Wyoming are cringing and saying: Oh, no, Kennedy and Enzi are doing
it again. But that is the way things get done, and we have quite a
track record of doing things that wind up pretty unanimous on both
sides of the Capitol because they figure with our two backgrounds it
has to be reasonable or we will not agree. That is exactly how it works
out.
So this bill probably will not make headlines, and it is not the most
sensational sound bite. However, this is work Congress can and must do
to improve the lives of children and families across America.
Today, with the passage of the Head Start conference report, we begin
to fulfill this obligation. But our work is far from done. This is just
the first in a number of education and training bills we have to
complete this Congress.
With the reauthorization of the Head Start Act, the first bookend is
in place. I hope we can continue to work together on legislation to
reauthorize No Child Left Behind, the Higher Education Act, and the
Workforce Investment Act. These four bills represent the continuum of
education and workforce training legislation supported by the Federal
Government--with Head Start as one bookend and the Workforce Investment
Act as the other.
These acts support programs from preschool, through elementary and
high school, into postsecondary education and the workforce, and are
critical to maintaining our global competitiveness. We cannot afford to
let those programs fall victim to election year politics.
I am pleased the House Education and Labor Committee has moved
forward with the markup of the reauthorization of the Higher Education
Act. It is my hope we can continue this momentum and move into a
conference on that important legislation in the very near future.
Head Start provides the building blocks children need for success
later in life. The Improving Head Start for School Readiness Act of
2007 before us today helps ensure that children in Head Start programs
will be better prepared to enter school with the skills necessary to
succeed. We have always worked hard to improve and strengthen this act
because we believe in the future success of all children.

[[Page S14379]]

I am particularly pleased with the accountability provisions in this
conference report. The conference agreement includes important changes
related to the evaluation and review of grantees. We have taken steps
to increase the quality of Head Start, and there is now greater clarity
for grantees as to what constitutes a program deficiency.
The roles of governing body and policy councils have been clarified
and strengthened, while also preserving the important role of parents.
It is absolutely necessary and vital that a single entity, the
governing body, has fiscal and legal control of the Federal grant
dollars. That said, we maintain the equally vital and necessary role of
the policy councils in setting program priorities, classroom
activities, and classroom personnel changes. We believe this will help
ensure the continued integrity of the Head Start Program for years to
come.

Parents are their children's first teachers. It is vital we continue
to encourage and strengthen the role parents play in Head Start
programs. This conference agreement increases the presence of parents
in Head Start programs. It strengthens services for families, and it
provides training and development opportunities for parents who serve
on policy councils and governing boards.
Today we are taking the final legislative step toward a comprehensive
and bipartisan reauthorization of the Head Start Program. As we take
this step to reauthorize Head Start, it is important we review the
effectiveness and need for the 57 other early childhood and preschool
programs currently receiving Federal support. Many of those programs
are programs in name only. Others are ineffective and fail to provide
the services children need to be ready for school. We have to direct
funds to programs that have been shown to be effective at preparing
children for success in elementary school. Head Start is a successful
program that deserves our continued support. This support should not be
diluted by competing programs or the creation of new programs.
I again wish to thank all the members of both committees, in
particular Senators Kennedy, Alexander, Isakson and Dodd, and
Congressmen Miller, McKeon, Kildee, and Castle, for getting this done.
I also thank all of the staff who worked to complete this
reauthorization. Many of them have been working toward this day since
early January. In particular, I would like to thank the following staff
for Congressman Miller: Ruth Friedman, Lamont Ivey, Denise Forte, and
Stephanie Moore; for Congressman McKeon: Kirsten Duncan, James
Bergeron, and Susan Ross; for Congressman Kildee: Lloyd Horwich; for
Congressman Castle: Jessica Gross; for Senator Kennedy: Roberto
Rodriguez, Carmel Martin, and David Johns--I would like to mention how
well Senator Kennedy's staff and my staff have been able to work
together on all of the issues--for Senator Isakson: Glee Smith; for
Senator Alexander: David Cleary and Sarah Rittling; and for Senator
Dodd: Catherine Hildum, and former staffer Sharon Lewis.
For my staff, I want to be sure to thank Lindsay Hunsicker, who has
done a marvelous job of working and understanding and providing some
creativity in the decisions that had to be made to get here; Beth
Buehlmann, who oversees all of these education issues and is making
sure they are moving forward in a bipartisan way; and Ilyse Schuman,
who is the legal brains behind the drafting and decisions for my team;
Katherine McGuire, who heads up the team as staff director; and, of
course, Kelly Hastings.
Passage of this conference report will ensure that low-income
children are prepared not only for success in school but, most
importantly, for later success in life.
I look forward to getting this conference report to President Bush
for his signature as soon as possible.
Mr. President, I yield the floor and reserve the remainder of my
time.
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from Massachusetts.
Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, I yield 5 minutes to the Senator from
Washington, Mrs. Murray, who has been particularly involved in making
sure parents are going to be included in this program. She has been
such an outspoken advocate for the homeless and foster children who so
often get left out and left behind. She is a former schoolteacher
herself and member of a school board. She brings extraordinary
knowledge, experience, and understanding to this problem. We are very
fortunate to have her on our committee, and the Senate is very
fortunate to have her as well. I hope they listen to her message.
Mr. President, I yield 5 minutes to the Senator from Washington.
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from Washington is
recognized.
Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, I thank the Senator from Massachusetts.
I am delighted we are here today to talk about one of the most
important things this Congress has done for our children, and that is
the Head Start Program.
I thank the Senators from Massachusetts and Wyoming for shepherding
this important bill to the floor today, where it is in its last final
step before it reaches the President for his signature.
For over 40 years now, Head Start has helped children from low-income
families build the confidence and skills they have to have to succeed
in school. As the Senator from Massachusetts said, I am a former
preschool teacher, parent, school board member, and U.S. Senator. I can
tell you, I have seen from every aspect how this important program
benefits our children.
Today, I am very excited we are taking a vote to renew this important
program. The bill we have in front of us now strengthens Head Start by
making it more efficient, more accommodating, and more sensitive to our
children's social, emotional, and developmental needs. It will allow us
to better serve millions of children and improve on this already
successful program.

This bill will help raise the quality that Senator Kennedy talked
about of our Head Start services across the country so that we ensure
all of our children, no matter where they live, receive high quality,
consistent services. Also, it will help ensure that all Head Start
partners from our early childhood centers to our elementary schools,
our childcare centers, our health care providers, our family service
centers, are all working together in a coordinated way so we can best
serve our young children and their families.
This bill increases funding authorization for Head Start each year
from 2008 to 2010, and that will enable even more of our kids to start
school ready to learn than ever before. I hope all of our colleagues
will support this important bill, and I urge the President to sign it
as soon as possible so we can put these new tools to work for our kids.
As the, I believe, only former preschool teacher here in the Senate,
I feel a personal obligation to stand up for all of our young children.
And standing up for our children, particularly our most vulnerable
children, means standing up for Head Start. Each year, nearly a million
poor children across this country attend our Head Start programs. Those
kids didn't choose to be poor, but fortunately, since they live in this
Nation, which values our young people, many of them are enrolled in
Head Start where they can get the tools and the training they need to
prepare them for school.
I thank Senator Kennedy and his staff as well as Ranking Member Enzi
for working so hard on this bill.
I am particularly proud of the provisions that increase Head Start
access for our homeless and for our foster children. This bill will
help improve transportation and services for these children and places
a priority on enrolling them. These are some of our kids who face some
of the greatest barriers to learning in our society, and I am glad we
are making their success in school and in life an immediate priority.
I also fought to make sure that parents of children enrolled in this
program have a voice in the decisionmaking process on local Head Start
issues. I think our parents need to be involved in these programs and
to have responsibility, and I think as their kids get a jump on
learning through Head Start, this program will help our parents begin
to understand that they have a very important and critical role in
shaping their children's education. So I am very proud we were able to
work out that language and move forward in a positive direction.

[[Page S14380]]

To name a few other quick additions, this reauthorization improves
the transition of Head Start children to school by making sure that the
curriculum they get matches their State early learning standards and
kindergarten skills, which is very important. It also reserves 40
percent of new Head Start funds to improve programs as well as increase
salaries for staffers, and it enables Native-American and migrant Head
Start programs to expand, which will increase access to early learning
for those particularly vulnerable populations.
I have visited Head Start centers all across my State. I have talked
with teachers, I have talked with the parents, and I have talked with
advocates about ways we can improve Head Start. I am very pleased that
a number of their suggestions have been put into this bill. Washington
State, my home State, is a leader in early learning efforts. I think we
can all be proud of this bill, and I hope all of our colleagues will
support it.
I yield the floor.
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator's time has expired.
Mr. ENZI. Mr. President, I yield 7 minutes to the former Secretary of
Education.
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from Tennessee is
recognized.
Mr. ALEXANDER. Mr. President, I ask the Chair to please let me know
when I have 1 minute remaining.
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Chair will so advise.
Mr. ALEXANDER. Mr. President, it is not too much to say that this
vote on this piece of legislation on Head Start is about whose century
this century will be. Some say it will be China's century. Some say it
will be India's century. I think the jury is still out, but I do
believe it can be the American century, and I believe it is up to us to
make sure it is.
We have the advantages in our country. One of them, of course, is our
brain power advantage. We don't have better brains than others, but
since World War II, we have spent a great deal of time building our
education system, our universities, our research laboratories. We
worked together this year to pass the America COMPETES Act, authorizing
$34 billion over the next 3 years to step that up. A second advantage
we have is the e pluribus unum. We are one country. Where different
countries are fractured, we are working here to help our children and
our new arrivals learn English, our common language, and to learn our
American history so we can stay as one country. That is an advantage we
have. The third advantage we have is that we are the only country in
the world that believes that anything is possible. We don't say leave
just a few children behind, or 80 percent of us are created equal; we
set these very high goals. Anything is possible. Most of our politics
is about failing to reach the goals, dealing with the disappointment,
and then trying again.
How do we make sure that the dream that anything is possible is real?
Well, No. 1, we keep down taxes and we keep down regulations, and we
keep markets free so people can go from the back to the front of the
line. The other thing we do is to make sure that all Americans have a
chance to get to the starting line ready. Some people need some help,
and that is what Head Start is about.

I was very pleased to come to this floor in the earlier part of this
year with Senator Kennedy, Senator Enzi, and Senator Dodd, introducing
a piece of legislation that we hoped would get to the point this one
has today. I thank them for the way they have worked on this for the
last 3 or 4 years. It didn't matter much whether it was a Republican or
a Democratic Senate; we all worked together and we are here now with
this result.
A lot has changed, and there are four major advantages to this bill,
in my opinion. No. 1, I call special attention to the 200 new centers
of excellence that are created. These are opportunities for Governors
to look, say, at Nashville or at Boston or at some place in their State
and designate a center of excellence. These would be shining examples
of all of the best efforts that are being made for early childhood
education. The centers would get up to $200,000 a year for 5 years and
would hopefully try to coordinate all early childhood education and
development efforts.
When I was a child, my mother's preschool class in the garage in our
backyard was the only preschool education program in town. In the
1970s, Tennessee adopted public kindergarten for the first time, a few
years after Head Start. Well, today, Head Start is a $7 billion
program. It has 1,700 agencies, 29,000 centers, but that is far from
all the effort we are making. There are 21 billion Federal dollars for
early childhood education, and many State and local dollars. They are
not always spent in the most efficient manner. The President thought it
would be better to give the Head Start funds to the States. I disagree
with that. We have disagreed with that, but we have respected his
impulse by saying in these 200 centers for the next 5 years, let's see
what happens. Let's see what happens when States work with local
governments and put all the Federal, State, and local money together
for early childhood education in these centers for excellence.
Second, there is a system for renewal for Head Start agencies. There
is not an automatic renewal after this time, and the Secretary of
Health and Human Services will develop a process for that to make sure
that for every cycle, the Head Start agency earns its right to
continue. Third, there is clear authority to governing boards about the
big dollars we are spending here and the big lives we are affecting. We
heard eloquent testimony from the mayor of Shelby County, A.C. Wharton,
about money that was stolen down there. So we have done a better job
listening to Mayor Wharton and to others in making it clear who is in
charge of the money, who is in charge of the administration, and at the
same time, making sure that the parents, who are the lifeblood of the
uniqueness of Head Start, are active and full participants through
policy councils.
Finally, as the President also recommended, we have worked over the
last 2 or 3 years in developing this bill to increase cognitive
learning standards. Forty years ago, we didn't know nearly as much
about how the brains of very young children work, but we know now that
to be ready to learn, to be at the starting line when the time comes to
go to school, children need to learn more in their earlier years. So
Head Start will provide that opportunity.
It is not too much to say that this bill is about whose century this
will be. We hope it will be the century of every child in the world,
but we like the idea that it could be the American century, and we want
to take full advantage of the assets we have. One of the assets we have
is the dream that anything is possible, that you can go from the back
of the line to the front. We will keep our markets free. We will try to
keep our taxes down. We will get rid of unnecessary regulations so
people can get ahead. But this bill is a commitment that says we will
also make certain we will do our best to make sure every single child
has an opportunity to get to the starting line ready to succeed.
Thank you, Mr. President.
Ms. MIKULSKI. Mr. President, I am proud to rise in support of the
conference report for the Head Start for School Readiness Act. Since
1965, Head Start has been one of the most successful Federal programs
for helping low-income children and their families. This long overdue
reauthorization is good news for over a million Americans who rely on
Head Start's comprehensive services.
Head Start is for the poorest children. About 75 percent of Head
Start families are at or below the poverty level. For a family of four,
that is just $20,600 per year. These children are often the furthest
behind in learning to read and learning the alphabet. Yet Head Start
makes a difference. In 1 year, these students see huge improvements in
their vocabulary, increasing from the 16th percentile to the 32nd
percentile, which is almost the national norm.
But Head Start does so much more. It brings children to the doctor to
get immunizations and hearing checks. It helps parents get on the right
track. Many parents become Head Start teachers and go back to school to
get their degrees. It provides nutritious meals for children who might
otherwise go hungry. I am a social worker. I have seen first hand
children whose lives were changed by a simple hearing

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aid or a good breakfast. Believe me: it can make all the difference.
Head Start is also a smart investment. Research shows that society
accrues $9 in benefits for every $1 invested in Head Start children.
Head Start graduates are more likely to have increased earnings and
employment than non-Head Start participants. Head Start graduates are
also less likely to be dependent on welfare or to have been charged
with a crime when compared to their siblings who did not participate in
the program.
Unfortunately, only 60 percent of eligible preschool children are in
Head Start, and less than 5 percent of eligible infants and toddlers
are in Early Head Start. In Maryland, about 25 percent of eligible
children age zero to 5 years are in Head Start and Early Head Start.
The Bush administration has underfunded this critical Federal program
for the past 7 years. Now is the time to renew the Federal investment
in Head Start.
That is why I am proud to support this bill that makes low-income
children and families a priority in the Federal checkbook. It increases
the authorized spending level from $6.9 billion in fiscal year 2007 to
$7.3 billion in fiscal year 2008. That is nearly a $450 million
increase. This increased investment will allow tens of thousands more
children to participate in the program who would be otherwise turned
away because of inadequate funding.
This bill also expands Head Start by increasing the eligibility
income level from $20,600 to $26,800. This means that a family of four
who are scrimping and saving on an annual income of only $26,800 will
no longer be denied the comprehensive services Head Start provides.
The Head Start for School Readiness Act makes a serious investment in
our youngest children and their families. The benefits of Head Start to
the children, their families and society at large far outweighs the
cost. I urge my Senate colleagues to vote in favor of this conference
report. Our young children deserve nothing less.
Mr. REED. Mr. President, I strongly support H.R. 1429, the Improving
Head Start for School Readiness Act of 2007. This important bipartisan
legislation, which I helped craft as a member of the Senate Education
Committee and as a conferee, reauthorizes the Head Start Act for the
first time since 1998 and strengthens our commitment to ensuring that
the nation's neediest children receive high-quality early education
supports and services.
Since 1965, Head Start has provided comprehensive early childhood
development, educational, health, nutritional, social and other
services to low-income preschool children and their families, and this
reauthorization builds on our long-standing investment in this
essential initiative.
There are two provisions that I am particularly pleased are included
in this legislation, and which are important to my State of Rhode
Island. First, the Improving Head Start for School Readiness Act builds
on provisions I first authored in 2003 to provide Head Start programs
with additional flexibility to serve children up to 130 percent of
poverty. Current law limits program eligibility to 100 percent of
poverty or below. This increase in income eligibility will enhance the
opportunity for struggling, low-income families to participate in Head
Start while ensuring that programs prioritize serving families under
the poverty guideline and enhance outreach to ensure those most in need
are served first. Raising the income eligibility limit finally puts
Head Start on the same level as other means-tested programs, which
essentially all serve above the poverty level to provide for greater
participation and help the working poor.
Second, this legislation for the first time establishes the Parent
Policy Council as a decisionmaking authority within the governing
structure of Head Start programs. Strong parent involvement in their
children's early education and development has been a key tenet of the
Head Start program since its inception in 1965, and is one of the
primary reasons for the program's continuing success.
This reauthorization also includes a provision I authored to enhance
coordination between Head Start programs and school and public
libraries to excite children about the world of books, assist in
literacy training for Head Start teachers, and support parents and
other caregivers in literacy efforts.
Additionally, I am pleased that this conference report does not
permit employment discrimination based on religion despite the
administration's continuing advocacy for such a change. Faith-based
organizations are an integral part of Head Start. However, there is no
need to change a program that has encouraged their participation by
allowing such discrimination.
I want to thank Chairmen Kennedy, Dodd, and Miller and Ranking
Members Enzi, Alexander, and McKeon and their staffs, for their
extraordinary work on this conference report. The Improving Head Start
for School Readiness Act is significant legislation for the people of
Rhode Island and the nation, and I am pleased to support it. This
strong reauthorization in tandem with necessary funding increases will
ensure that Head Start can continue its important and critical work to
lessen the effects of poverty and ensure that children are successfully
prepared for school and life.
Mr. HATCH. Mr. President, today we approved the Conference Report on
the Improving Head Start for School Readiness Act of 2007--H.R. 1429. I
applaud the good work of all involved. I particularly want to commend
Chairman Kennedy and Senator Enzi, as well as Chairman Miller and
Representative McKeon on the House side for their collective work on
this important bill.
Head Start is a national program promoting school readiness through
educational, health, nutritional, and social services. Currently, Head
Start serves over 900,000 low-income children and their families in
approximately 1,600 programs run by public and private agencies. As a
whole-child, whole-family program, Head Start prepares children for
what we hope will be a lifetime of learning.
I want to recognize and commend our Head Start programs in Utah. They
do an outstanding job, and I believe this legislation will go a long
way to providing additional support for them. I have appreciated their
input during this long process.
I have been struck by some of the stories shared by our Head Start
people in Utah. I remember hearing from one of our Head Start Directors
that a number of children have never held a book before entering the
program. When they are handed their first book, many don't know how to
open it. Entering Head Start swings wide the doors of learning and
opportunity and exposes young children to the reading and learning
process.
I have also heard stories of Head Start children who were suffering
from major medical problems that would not only threaten their ability
to learn but their very lives. One of the great characteristics of the
Head Start program includes the identification and treatment of several
medical conditions, many problems can be detected and treated before
they become serious learning impediments.
The Improving Head Start for School Readiness Act of 2007 not only
reauthorizes the program, it greatly improves and strengthens it. This
bill will enable more low-income children to get into the Head Start
program. Utah has only been able to serve just over 50 percent of its
eligible children. This bill provides for the expansion of Head Start
and Early Head Start in States, like Utah, serving fewer than 60
percent of eligible children.
This bill strengthens the accountability of Head Start programs and
improves the overall quality of Head Start grantees, as they will be
reviewed every 5 years. It clarifies and strengthens the role of the
governing board in the oversight of the program. It also respects the
priority role of parents and family through the collaborative role of
the policy councils and operations of the Head Start programs.
Through this legislation, the Head Start workforce is strengthened,
as goals have been established for education standards for Head Start
teachers, curriculum specialists, and teacher assistants. It requires
Head Start teachers to have in-service training every year and ensures
professional development for all Head Start staff working directly with
children.
The Improving Head Start for School Readiness Act of 2007 strengthens
coordination and collaboration of the program by aligning services with

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State early learning standards, providing professional development
opportunities for Head Start staff, and promoting partnerships with
other agencies.
Because I believe that education is best done at the local and State
levels with appropriate Federal support, I am pleased that under this
bill, states will designate a State Advisory Council that will closely
address the education and care of children from birth to school entry.
I strongly support the authorization for Centers of Excellence to
designate model exemplary Head Start programs in every State.
One of the concerns expressed by many of us as we started this
process years ago, was the challenge of strengthening the academic
portions of Head Start. Under this bill, Head Start agencies will use
scientifically based measures to support learning and program
evaluation. Recommendations of the National Academy of Science study on
Developmental Outcomes and Assessments for Young Children will be
incorporated. Although the National Reporting System was intended to
improve the program, it was found to be time-consuming and unwieldy for
Head Start programs, and without demonstrated benefits. That reporting
system has been eliminated under this bill.
In order to educate every child in our country, we must prepare them.
Many pre-school children, particularly those who are disadvantaged,
would have learning difficulties long before they entered elementary
school. This bill will help these young, vulnerable, and teachable
children develop the necessary early reading and math skills to be
successful in school. It will address their health and nutritional
needs, and it will provide important socialization. It also engages and
empowers parents, and benefits us as a Nation.
I was proud to have worked with my colleagues on the Senate Health,
Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee to get this bill through the
legislative process, and I was pleased to see it pass unanimously
today.
Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I rise today in support of the conference
report to accompany the Head Start reauthorization bill. For the first
time since 1998, Congress will send a bill to the President to
reauthorize and strengthen the Head Start program.
A child's education begins well before he or she enters a school
building for the first day of kindergarten. The children who succeed in
kindergarten are the children whose parents read to them every day, who
talk with them, and who engage their minds with games, art, and new
experiences. These are the children who enter kindergarten ready to
learn.
Unfortunately, many children enter kindergarten well behind their
peers. They may have parents whose long hours interfere with the kind
of time they spend with their small children. Or they may have parents
who don't know how important these early developmental activities are.
That is why we created Head Start in 1965, to make sure low-income
children are ready to learn when they arrive in kindergarten. Head
Start provides preschool-aged, low-income children and their families
with school activities, health screening, healthy snacks, and structure
to encourage parental involvement.
Each year, over 900,000 children are served by Head Start nationwide;
40,000 of those children live in my home State of Illinois. The
legislation that we are considering today will increase authorized
funding for Head Start to $7.9 billion in fiscal year 2010, allowing
tens of thousands more children to participate in the program.
The legislation will also expand eligibility, allowing Head Start to
serve low-income children and families up to 130 percent of Federal
poverty, or $26,800 for a family of four. It will also expand the Early
Head Start program, so it can reach an additional 8,000 low-income
infants and toddlers. The earlier children enroll in Head Start
programs, the more likely they are to succeed once they enter
kindergarten.
The legislation also sets new minimum qualification standards for
Head Start teachers. Within 6 years, all Head Start teachers must have
an associate's degree, and half of all teachers must have a bachelor's
degree. Forty percent of new funding will be reserved for program
quality enhancements, including much-needed salary increases for Head
Start staff.
Educational standards will be strengthened in Head Start programs to
make sure children are presented with language and literacy, math,
science, and other cognitive development material. These new standards
will be updated and aligned with the latest research in child
development. The legislation we are considering today will improve the
transition for children who are leaving Head Start to enter
kindergarten, through better coordination between Head Start programs
and schools, shared teacher training, and alignment of curriculum.
I am especially pleased that this legislation strengthens Head Start
without weakening its long-standing civil rights protections for more
than 200,000 Head Start teachers and 1.3 million parent volunteers.
Since 1972, the law has prohibited agencies that receive government
funding for Head Start from employment discrimination on the basis of
race, creed, color, national origin, sex, political affiliation, or
beliefs. These civil rights protections have been reaffirmed all six
times that the Head Start program has been reauthorized since then, and
I strongly support the seventh reaffirmation today.
Preserving this provision is especially important given this
administration's attempts to overturn long-standing principles of
nondiscrimination through Executive orders, proposed legislation, and,
recently, Department of Justice opinions.
Let me be clear. I support the right of religious organizations to
use religious criteria in hiring people to carry out their religious
work. This exception--which is the current law--makes sense because it
allows people of common faith to work together to further their
religion's mission.
However, there is a fundamental difference between religious
organizations using their own funds for their religious work and
religious organizations using government funds for that purpose. In
1972, Congress established the current, expanded religious exception
under title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The same Congress
established the nondiscrimination provisions in Head Start that
continue with today's legislation. They understood the difference
between permitting hiring based on religion for religious functions not
funded by the government, and allowing discrimination based on religion
in hiring people to carry out activities funded by the Federal
Government.
I also want to address a memo released last month by the Department
of Justice entitled ``Effect of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act
on Faith-Based Applicants for Grants.'' This troubling memo concludes
that the Religious Freedom Restoration Act allows faith-based
organizations to receive Federal funds even when considering religion
in employment. It further asserts that RFRA ``protects this right to
prefer co-religionists for employees even if the statute that
authorizes the funding program generally forbids consideration of
religion in employment decisions by grantees.''
I strongly disagree with these conclusions in general, and especially
with respect to the legislation before us today. The law and the
history regarding Head Start is clear with respect to nondiscrimination
in employment, and this explicit civil rights protection must be
followed.
In closing, I want to affirm my strong support for the participation
of religious organizations in the Head Start program. These
organizations provide critical support for our Nation's children in 5
percent of Head Start centers and greatly improve our pre-schoolers'
education. It is not surprising that Head Start is the second-largest
source of federal funding for faith-based organizations.
This program truly is a model for how the government can successfully
partner with faith-based organizations, while complying with
nondiscrimination requirements.
I thank Senators Kennedy and Enzi for their bipartisan work on this
important legislation, and I urge my colleagues to support this
conference report.
Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, as I understand, we have 9 minutes left.
Am I correct?
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator is correct.

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Mr. KENNEDY. I yield 3 minutes to the Senator from Ohio and 3 minutes
to the Senator from Vermont, and I will take the last 3 minutes, and we
will alternate with our Republican colleagues.
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from Ohio is
recognized.
Mr. BROWN. Mr. President, I thank Chairman Kennedy and Ranking Member
Enzi for their leadership, as well as the staff, for their tireless
work on the Head Start reauthorization bill. It is long overdue. It
will help prepare thousands of low-income children for their transition
into school and for their success later in life.
There is no greater investment, of course, that we can make than
investing in our children. This legislation means an additional 8,000
low-income infants and toddlers younger than those who have
traditionally been enrolled in Head Start will be eligible for the
program. Teachers will receive more training, the critical training
they need and the cost-of-living increases that they deserve. This
legislation means expansion of the program to children whose families
earn just above the poverty line. For tens of thousands of children in
this country, this legislation gives them hope. It is a step forward, a
major step forward.
Yesterday, unfortunately, the President vetoed the funding for Head
Start. That is why we take a step forward today with this Head Start
reauthorization, as the President took a step backward in vetoing the
funding for Head Start. Budgets, we know, are about priorities. Whether
it is a family budget, it speaks to your values; whether it is a
Federal budget, it speaks to our values. Vetoing funding for Head
Start, for medical research, and for job training as the President did
yesterday, tells us something about his priorities.
I am pleased that on a bipartisan basis, by passing legislation that
expands Head Start to reach more low-income children, this Senate is
saying our priorities are different. I hope that together we can
override the President's veto and fulfill the promise inherent in the
Head Start Program.
I thank my colleagues on both sides of the aisle for their good work
on this Head Start reauthorization. We should move forward.
Mr. ENZI. Mr. President, how much time do I have remaining?
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Almost 14 minutes.
Mr. ENZI. I yield 7 minutes to the Senator from Georgia, who has
always played a tremendous role in this piece of work with his staff
person Glee Smith, and he brings with him a world of knowledge from
Georgia where he served as the chief school official there. They set
some precedent-setting things at all levels of education while he was
doing that, and he did it in conjunction with former Senator Zell
Miller, who was Governor at that time. I yield 7 minutes to the Senator
from Georgia.
Mr. ISAKSON. Mr. President, I wish to thank Ranking Member Enzi for
his kind remarks and his tremendous dedication and commitment to
bringing this conference report to the floor. I particularly want to
thank Senator Kennedy from Massachusetts, who is a consummate
legislator by anybody's definition and a very committed individual in
the development of our youth and the betterment of education.
As Senator Enzi said, about a decade ago I served as chairman of the
State Board of Education in the administration of my predecessor in
this seat who was then Governor Zell Miller. Those were the years that
the breakthrough brain research came forward and illustrated
conclusively that there is a direct correlation between early childhood
development and the potential development of a person as an adult. We
worked very hard together in Georgia to improve the plight of all
Georgians and did everything we could to develop new programs. One of
them that we developed was none other than the 4-year-old
prekindergarten program which now is available to every child in
Georgia. It is a program that builds on the fact that the earlier you
can begin instruction, the earlier you can improve the environment and
the atmosphere in which a child is exposed, the better that child is
going to do.
It is critical for us, if we want to turn around the trend in terms
of dropouts in this country, to see to it that we enhance and enrich
the lives of every single student who is going to go to our public
schools.
Mr. President, it is conclusive that the environment in which a child
lives in their early years--that to which they are exposed, their
nutrition, the total environment--is directly a correlation to their
ability to learn. The Head Start Program is designed to get to those
children most in need for quality support, for uplift, for a greater
self-esteem, and for a leg up, a chance to get to go to a 4-year-old
prekindergarten program or to a kindergarten program ready to learn.
USA Today ran an article about a week ago talking about America's
dropout factories, and it enumerated schools in almost every State,
with dropout rates of 40, 50, 60 percent. If you looked at the facts
around those articles and those schools, you would find a common
denominator: Those schools' children came from the least of
backgrounds, with the least support, and from the poorest of
environments. We have an obligation to ourselves and, as Senator
Alexander said, America's future to see to it that every American child
arrives at kindergarten or first grade ready to learn. The advancement
of programs such as Head Start will make that happen.
I commend Senators Alexander, Enzi, and Kennedy, Congressmen Miller
and McKeon, and all those who worked on this important legislation. I
urge every Member to cast a favorable vote in favor of a better
atmosphere for our young children to grow up in, better exposure to
those things that help them go to school ready to learn, and turn
around the paradigm on dropouts in the United States.
I yield the floor.
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from Vermont is
recognized.
Mr. SANDERS. Mr. President, I wish to add my voice to the others and
thank Senator Kennedy and Senator Enzi for their leadership on this
issue and for the cooperative, bipartisan relationship we see on that
committee, which makes it perhaps the most productive committee in the
Senate.
As others have said, this is a very important day forward for the
children of our country. Right now, I am thinking about the Head Start
workers in Vermont who do such an extraordinary job in reaching out and
providing for low-income kids throughout our State, and I know the same
is true throughout this country. They are dedicated people, they are
underpaid and overworked, but they do it for the love of the children.
I very much appreciate all they are doing.
Mr. President, while this is, in fact, an important day forward, it
is significant to point out again that this is an authorization bill,
not an appropriations bill. We had the disappointment just the other
day of the President vetoing the Labor-HHS bill, which includes Head
Start. My hope is that in the very near future we are going to have a
strong Labor bill, with adequate funding for Head Start, but more
significantly--and this is an issue I will talk about until the cows
come home--we have to change our national priorities with regard to how
we treat the children of this country.
Every Member of Congress, every American should be deeply ashamed and
embarrassed that in this great country, we have, by far, the highest
rate of childhood poverty in the industrialized world. The figures are
that between 18 and 20 percent of our children live in poverty. As
other speakers have pointed out, if children at an early age don't get
the intellectual and emotional nourishment they need, they are not
going to do well in life. It is not an accident that at the same time
we have the highest rate of childhood poverty, we also have the highest
rate of incarceration of any major nation on Earth. So we don't take
adequate care of our children, and, lo and behold, we are shocked when
they end up behind bars, and we spend $50,000 to $70,000 for each
person who is incarcerated. It makes a lot more sense to me--and I hope
my colleagues agree--that we put that money up front to make sure all
of our kids get the opportunities they are entitled to as young
Americans.
The truth is that while this bill is a significant step forward--and
I applaud all those who built it--as Senator Kennedy indicated earlier,
only one-half of

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the eligible children in America today, because of inadequate funding,
are able to get into the Head Start Program. So this is an important
step forward. I congratulate all who have made this day possible. We
have a long way to go to, in fact, keep the faith with the children of
America.
Mr. ENZI. Mr. President, I yield 3 minutes to the Senator from New
Hampshire.
Mr. GREGG. Mr. President, I thank the Senator from Wyoming and the
Senator from Massachusetts. I rise to express my appreciation for their
excellent work on this legislation. It has been a long time in
gestation. I think it reflects their commitment to legislating in a
bipartisan and effective way that the bill is now at this stage. I
congratulate them.
I think anybody who has been exposed to Head Start is impressed by
the program. There have been studies and reports of that which can be
done to improve the program, and hopefully this bill will work in that
direction. But the underlying idea of giving low-income kids the
ability to come into an atmosphere where they get nurturing, good
nutrition, and now, because of this bill, where they get starting
blocks for learning how to deal with an academic program is totally
appropriate and something that has succeeded.
If you look at what we are facing as a nation, as discussed here at
considerable length--I heard the Senator from Tennessee make an
excellent statement on the needs of education, and what our country
really needs is the ability to bring into the educational mainstream
children who today, unfortunately, are not able or do not come to
school with the necessary skills to compete with some of their fellow
students. Head Start gives those children that opportunity. It gives
low-income kids the ability to start kindergarten and get into the
first grade with an understanding of how, first, to be social and deal
with an atmosphere where there are other children; secondly, to have
the necessary nutrition to get through the day and be able to learn;
and third, begin the building blocks of learning. This program works,
and it has worked. It is something that should be continued to be
supported by the Federal Government and also by the local communities
that stand behind Head Start.
That is one of the great things about Head Start. In my experience,
when you go to a local Head Start center in New Hampshire--or
anywhere--as chairman of the committee, I visited Head Start centers
all across the country. They are usually community-oriented events.
Behind those teachers and committed people, who are willing to spend
the day with the children and try to make their lives better during the
day, there are usually a lot of volunteers and people from the
community stepping up to also make those programs work well.
So Head Start is one of the success stories and one of the things we
need as one of the building blocks in order to continue to make America
a great place to live and give people the ability to participate in the
American dream.
Again, I thank the Senators for orchestrating this effort.
I yield the floor.
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Who yields time? The Senator from
Wyoming is recognized.
Mr. ENZI. Mr. President, it has been a pleasure and an honor to get
to work on this bill and to work with people on both sides of the
aisle. You can see the unanimity from the Republican side and the
Democratic side in making sure the bill came to pass.
As I mentioned before, we have had a lot of false starts trying to
get Head Start done. This time, we have gotten through the process.
Today, we will have a positive vote and send it to the President for
signature. I think you can tell from the debate that it has been a very
positive process.
The only distinction appears to be the few comments we have had about
the Labor-HHS appropriations bill. I don't want to get into that issue
because it will take a long time to discuss it. I ask unanimous consent
to have the Wall Street Journal article from today called ``Return to
Spender'' printed in the Record to counter some of the things talked
about. It wasn't Head Start that he vetoed; it was the entire Labor-HHS
budget.
There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in
the Record, as follows:

Return To Spender

Congressional Democrats spent the fall preparing for their
budget confrontation with the White House, and the strategy
they seem to have settled on is futility. They knew President
Bush would veto their first appropriations bill, as he did
yesterday, and they also knew they'd lack the votes for an
override. If they're wondering why the bottom's fallen out of
their approval ratings, here it is.
Mr. Bush said the bill exceeds ``reasonable and responsible
levels for discretionary spending,'' and he was being too
kind. Ostensibly the $606 billion ``minibus''--combining
funding for the Departments of Labor, Health and Human
Services, and Education--is ``only'' $12.2 billion beyond the
President's budget request for discretionary spending. But
that's more than half of the $22 billion that Democrats want
to spend for 2008 above the Administration's top line. (That
$22 billion, by the way, swells to at least $205 billion in
additional outlays over five years.)
Democrats are already feigning outrage. House
Appropriations kingpin David Obey complained, ``There has
been virtually no criticism of its contents,'' and if he's
only referring to Congress, he's not far off. The bill marks
a return to Capitol Hill's earmarks-as-usual spending
culture, assuming it ever abated. There are more than 2,200
earmarks worth some $1 billion.
The pork includes $1.5 million for the AFL-CIO Working for
America Institute and $2.2 million for the AFL-CIO
Appalachian Council. There's $500,000 for a ``virtual
herbarium'' in New York and $50,000 for a Utah ``ice
center.'' Also check off $1 million for the Clinton School of
Public Service in Little Rock, and another $1 million for the
Thomas Daschle Center for Public Service and Representative
Democracy at South Dakota State University. Plus the usual
assorted millions for art centers, aquariums, aviation and
jazz museums, and so forth.
The Members also reverted to habit by using a House-Senate
conference to ``airdrop'' $155 million in earmarks that were
not included in earlier editions--in violation of the 2006
ethics ``reform.'' The conference also clandestinely removed
a provision barring federal funding for the ``hippies
museum'' near Woodstock. All of this from Democrats who rode
into the majority promising to restore ``fiscal discipline.''
Mr. Obey was especially instructive in a speech immediately
before the final House vote: ``I would ask every serious-
minded person in this body, if they really think there is a
chance of a snowball in Hades that Members' earmarks on
either side of the aisle will survive if we wind up at the
President's level of funding.'' He concluded: ``The fate of
every project . . . is in your hands.''
The Democrats were desperate for a veto-proof majority, and
for the sake of their earmarks some Republicans were content
to go along. The pork, of course, was cover for much larger
domestic spending excesses, including a $2.4 billion budget
gimmick for'' advance appropriations'' designed to circumvent
Democratic ``pay as you go'' budget rules. Thankfully, enough
GOP Members realized it, and maybe a few even hoped to
recover their credibility on spending.
Since there aren't enough votes to override Mr. Bush, it's
back to the drawing board. Maybe next time Democrats should
try something new--say, spending less money.

Mr. ENZI. I hope the vote today will display the unanimity we have
had while working on this bill. I congratulate the Senator from
Massachusetts for the way he is running the committee. We have not just
done hearings on things--hearings are a little more divisive than the
other mechanism, which has been his morning coffees. In hearings, the
two sides bring people to testify, and we kind of beat up on each
other's witnesses. In the coffees he has held, we get to bring in a
bunch of people and hear what they think. We have the interaction of
one person who has had experience, and he talks to another person who
has had experience, and they talk about how the two experiences might
come together. That has been helpful on this bill, as well as the other
ones, the bookends I mentioned. This being the first part of the
bookend, and the next one we will be working on is No Child Left
Behind.
We have already done the Higher Education Act on this side. I look
forward to conferencing that and getting on to the Workforce Investment
Act, which passed this body twice already but never has been
conferenced. Our work is still cut out for us, but this is a day to
celebrate the good work done on both sides of the aisle.
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from Massachusetts is
recognized.
Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, I thank my friend and colleague from
Wyoming. He believes we ought to listen to experts before we actually
legislate, which was a rather dramatic

[[Page S14385]]

thought to many around here. He certainly is right. He reminds us of
our unfinished business in terms of higher education and the workforce
legislation. We are strongly committed, and we will get a response on
that.

Unanimous-Consent Agreement--H. Con. Res. 258

Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that upon the
adoption of the conference report to accompany H.R. 1429, the Senate
proceed to the consideration of H. Con. Res. 258, a correcting
resolution; that the concurrent resolution be agreed to and the motion
to reconsider be laid upon the table.
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Is there objection? Without
objection, it is so ordered.
Mr. KENNEDY. Finally, I would take a few moments to mention the staff
who worked on this bill. I want to personally mention those who have
worked so hard on this legislation. Some have been working on this for
4 years. I will not get into the reasons for that. This has been a very
long and, in the past, contentious piece of legislation and without
them, there is no way we could have completed this bill.
I would like to thank Michael Myers, Carmel Martin, Roberto
Rodriguez, David Johns, Lily Clark, Liz Maher, and Raquel Alvarenga
from my staff.
I would like to thank Katherine Graham Hildum of Senator Dodd's
staff; Janelle Krishnamoorthy of Senator Harkin's staff; Mildred Otero
of Senator Clinton's staff; Michael Yudin of Senator Bingaman's staff;
Robin Juliano of Senator Mikulski's staff; Seth Gerson of Senator
Reed's staff; Kathryn Young of Senator Murray's staff; Will Jawando of
Senator Brown's staff; Huck Gutman of Senator Sanders' staff; and Steve
Robinson of Senator Obama's staff.
This has been a bipartisan process all the way. I would also like to
thank Senator Enzi's wonderful staff, specifically Katherine McGuire,
Beth Buehlmann, Lindsay Hunsicker, and Adam Briddell.
I would also like to thank David Cleary and Sarah Rittling of Senator
Alexander's staff; Celia Sims of Senator Burr's staff; Juliann Andreen
of Senator Hatch's staff; Allison Dembeck of Senator Gregg's staff;
Elizabeth Floyd of Senator Coburn's staff; Karen McCarthy of Senator
Murkowski's staff; Suzanne Singleterry of Senator Allard's staff; Glee
Smith of Senator Isakson's staff; and Alison Anway of Senator Roberts'
staff.
It is important to mention the work done by our colleagues in the
House and I would like to thank Ruth Freidman of Congressman Miller's
staff; James Bergeron, Kristen Duncan and Susan Ross of Congressman
McKeon's staff; Lloyd Horwich of Congressman Kildee's staff and Jessica
Gross of Congressman Castle's staff for all of their work on this
legislation.
I would like to thank especially Roberto Rodriguez and David Johns
who have taken the lead on Head Start in my office. Their good work has
made all the difference. I know Roberto is especially pleased to see
the Senate and House pass this conference report, as he has worked on
this legislation for several years now. I commend him for his
expertise, diligence, good nature and all of his efforts.
Mr. President, finally, the Head Start Program reaches the neediest
children in this country. It reaches them to help and assist by
providing health care, teaching proper nutrition, and by supporting
proper development of cognitive abilities to ensure that children are
ready to successfully transition to school.
Head Start is targeted to the neediest children in this country. Even
with the small numbers we reach--we only reach a million, and there are
4 million poor children who are between ages 0 and 5--we see the
difference it makes. Head Start raises them to a level playing ground.
That is what our country is really about--trying to raise people to a
level playing ground. Head Start alone does not guarantee success, but
it gives them the opportunity to be successful.
If we have a group in our society that needs this kind of support, it
is our children. As pointed out in this debate, through no fault of
their own many children are born into difficult and challenging
circumstances. As a nation we have a responsibility to get them up to a
point where they can succeed in school and in life. That is what Head
Start is about--a recognition that our Nation believes that children
who are living in poverty, in some of the most challenging
circumstances, should have the opportunity to be on a level playing
field.
Finally, there is one thing we have learned in the area of education;
that is, the more resources are targeted to early education, the better
the opportunities these children have to succeed.
In this reauthorization we have taken advantage of the lessons we
have learned from Head Start's successful history and built upon
excellent recommendations made by members of our committee. This is a
very solid and important piece of legislation that will make a
difference in the lives of millions of children. I urge the Senate to
support it.
Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the following three
letters in support of the Head Start reauthorization conference report
be printed in the Congressional Record following my remarks on the
conference report.
There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in
the Record, as follows:

National Head Start Association,

Alexandria, VA, November 13, 2007.
Hon. Edward Kennedy,
Chairman, Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor &
Pension, Washington, DC
Dear Chairman Kennedy: On behalf of the National Head Start
Association, the children, parents, staff and teachers of
Head Start and Early Head Start programs, and the Board of
Directors, I would like to take this opportunity to
congratulate you, the members of the Senate Committee on
Health, Education, Labor and Pension for supporting the
reauthorization of Head Start--truly a bipartisan effort and
success story for America's premier preschool program, Head
Start.
As the national association representing the Head Start
community, we represent more than 1 million children and
their families, 200,000 staff, and 2,700 Head Start programs.
With the assistance of over 1 million volunteers, these
programs comprehensively meet the early childhood
development, educational, health and family needs of our
children.
Head Start as you very well know, was established in 1965
as part of President Lyndon Baines Johnson's ``Great
Society'' program, and is the most successful, longest
running, national school readiness program in the United
States. Head Start has served over 25 million preschool-age
children, infants, toddlers, and pregnant women since its
inception. Your successful reauthorization of Head Start
signals the continued legacy for future low-income children
and families.
The Head Start reauthorization bill is a lesson in
bipartisan cooperation and leadership in addressing a
critical priority need of our country--the preschool
readiness of our children. In short, the ``Improving Head
Start Act'' addresses income eligibility, where the working
poor are supported and provided incentives to work;
terminates the National Reporting System; helps more programs
operate full-day and year round; reaffirms the accreditation
of teachers in early childhood; provides expansion for
Migrant and Seasonal Head Start and American Indian/Alaskan
Native populations; and underscores the importance of
parental involvement in the education of their children.
Therefore, I call upon our longtime friends and supporters
in the U.S. Congress to approve overwhelmingly the
``Improving Head Start Act of 2007'' and send it to the
President for his signature.
Again, congratulations on your success and that of our
children and families.
With great gratitude,
Sarah Greene,
President and CEO.
____

Fight Crime:

Invest in Kids,

Washington, DC, November 14, 2007.
Dear Senators Kennedy, Enzi, Dodd and Alexander: The over
3,500 police chiefs, sheriffs, prosecutors and violence
survivors of Fight Crime: Invest in Kids know from the front
lines--and the research--that investments in Head Start are
critical to our nation's public safety. Head Start helps kids
get a good start in life so that they avoid later criminality
and grow up to become responsible citizens. But the maximum
crime reduction impacts--and many other benefits of Head
Start--can only occur when programs reach more of the at-risk
kids and are comprehensive and of the highest quality.
We are pleased that the final conference report version of
the Improving Head Start Act of 2007 (H.R. 1429) includes the
following:
Funding authorization: We are pleased the bill includes
increased funding authorizations in Fiscal Years (FY) 2008-
2010, with ``such sums'' funding levels for FY11-FY12. A $750
million increase in FY08--beyond the FY07 level--is needed to
simply restore funding to the FY02 service level. And that
level would only serve a small portion of the eligible, poor
kids now left out of Head Start. These increases are an
important first step in the right direction.
Teacher qualifications: We are pleased the bill includes a
quality improvement requirement that 50% of classroom lead
teachers

[[Page S14386]]

have at least a bachelor's degree by 2013. The requirement is
crucial to Head Start program quality, since no peer-
reviewed, scientific research study has found an early care
and education program that demonstrated significant, long-
term crime reduction and education results without a
bachelor's degree teacher requirement.
Quality improvement set-aside: We are pleased the bill
directs 40% of annual increases over the prior year's funding
level to quality improvement, with half of those funds
directed toward improved teacher compensation rates. Improved
teacher compensation is critical to attracting and retaining
better-educated individuals--who would otherwise flock to
higher-paying opportunities, including K-12 schools.
Targeting to serve the poorest children: We are pleased the
bill maintains Head Start's priority for serving the poorest,
most at-risk children by ensuring that children living in
poverty are served first as income eligibility is expanded to
130% of the Federal Poverty Level.
Early head start: We are pleased that bill adds flexibility
for Head Start programs to serve zero-to-three-year-olds if
they meet the Early Head Start quality standards. In
addition, we are pleased that the bill directs half of new
expansion funding toward Early Head Start enrollment
increases.
The bill also includes several provisions that will
continue to strengthen Head Start's quality:
No state block grants, state waivers, or state application
authority that might have endangered current quality
standards;
Training/technical assistance activities (including through
a 2.5%-3% set-aside);
Strengthened research-based school readiness elements of
Head Start (of course, it is critical to maintain and
strengthen all eight of the domains of Head Start's outcomes
framework);
Strengthened parent education and home visiting provisions;
A requirement that Head Start agencies utilize high-
quality, research-based developmental screening tools to
identify children with early emotional and behavioral
problems, so kids can receive the treatment they need to
prevent later delinquency;
Improvements in fiscal and program accountability among
grantees, including improved monitoring and termination of
grantees that are significantly and/or systemically
deficient;
Enhanced outreach to at-risk kids;
Enhanced collaboration and coordination efforts
requirements between local Head Start grantees and other
early education providers though collaboration grants;
Increased state-level coordination through State Advisory
Councils on Early Childhood Education and Care;
The development of an integrated data collection system to
provide complete information about children served by the
programs and the services offered; and
Suspension of the National Reporting System, and provisions
for any future assessment approaches to be based on the
results the National Academy of Sciences study regarding
appropriate, comprehensive and scientifically valid and
reliable child assessments.
We appreciate the efforts of the Health, Education, Labor
and Pensions Committee and the Education and Labor Committee
to strengthen Head Start through this reauthorization
legislation. This bill will benefit at-risk kids now and help
ensure safer communities in the years to come. The result
will be generations of disadvantaged children progressing
toward school success and graduation rather than later arrest
and incarceration.
Sincerely,
David S. Kass,
President.
Miriam A. Rollin,
Vice President.
____

Community Action Agencies Welcome Head Start Renewal

Washington (Nov. 14, 2007).--The nation's Community Action
Agencies applaud the work of Senate and House conferees on
Head Start reauthorization and look forward to passage of
this national child development legislation later this week.
Community Action Agencies (CAAs) administer 30 percent of
Head Start grants and a third of all enrollments nationwide.
Children and families participating in programs offered by
CAAs also benefit from the comprehensive services offered by
these organizations to help them secure housing, gain
employment, and build assets to help them achieve economic
security.
``Low-wage working families who turn to Community Action
Agencies to prepare their children for school with Head Start
leave with a variety of resources to help them improve the
lives of the entire family,'' said National Community Action
Foundation Executive Director David Bradley.
The conference agreement expands access for more eligible
children, increases classroom quality, enhances the Head
Start workforce, strengthens governance and provides more
tools for greater accountability.
``It is commendable that this Congress has focused so much
of its agenda on domestic issues that are important to
American voters, and, in this instance, has been able to do
so with strong bipartisan cooperation to assist low-wage
working families,'' Bradley said.
``Once these important enhancements are adopted for the
Head Start program, we hope that Congress will next turn its
attention to the remaining Human Services initiatives: the
Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) and the
Community Services Block Grant,'' he said. ``These programs
make key investments in the daily lives of low-wage working
American families, and are long overdue for reauthorization.
NCAF hopes its proposals to strengthen and modernize these
programs will be considered soon.''

Mr. KENNEDY. I yield back whatever time remains, and I ask for the
yeas and nays.
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Is there a sufficient second?
There appears to be a sufficient second.
The question is on agreeing to the conference report to accompany
H.R. 1429.
The clerk will call the roll.
The assistant legislative clerk called the roll.
Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from Delaware (Mr. Biden),
the Senator from New York (Mrs. Clinton), the Senator from Connecticut
(Mr. Dodd), and the Senator from Illinois (Mr. Obama) are necessarily
absent.
Mr. LOTT. The following Senator is necessarily absent: the Senator
from Arizona (Mr. McCain).
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Are there any other Senators in the
Chamber desiring to vote?
The result was announced--yeas 95, nays 0, as follows:

[Rollcall Vote No. 409 Leg.]

YEAS--95

Akaka
Alexander
Allard
Barrasso
Baucus
Bayh
Bennett
Bingaman
Bond
Boxer
Brown
Brownback
Bunning
Burr
Byrd
Cantwell
Cardin
Carper
Casey
Chambliss
Coburn
Cochran
Coleman
Collins
Conrad
Corker
Cornyn
Craig
Crapo
DeMint
Dole
Domenici
Dorgan
Durbin
Ensign
Enzi
Feingold
Feinstein
Graham
Grassley
Gregg
Hagel
Harkin
Hatch
Hutchison
Inhofe
Inouye
Isakson
Johnson
Kennedy
Kerry
Klobuchar
Kohl
Kyl
Landrieu
Lautenberg
Leahy
Levin
Lieberman
Lincoln
Lott
Lugar
Martinez
McCaskill
McConnell
Menendez
Mikulski
Murkowski
Murray
Nelson (FL)
Nelson (NE)
Pryor
Reed
Reid
Roberts
Rockefeller
Salazar
Sanders
Schumer
Sessions
Shelby
Smith
Snowe
Specter
Stabenow
Stevens
Sununu
Tester
Thune
Vitter
Voinovich
Warner
Webb
Whitehouse
Wyden

NOT VOTING--5

Biden
Clinton
Dodd
McCain
Obama
The conference report was agreed to.
(At the request of Mr. Reid, the following statement was ordered to
be printed in the Record.)
<bullet> Mrs. CLINTON. Mr. President, I rise to applaud the Senate
passage of the Head Start Improvement for School Readiness Act of
2007--a product of hard work by my colleagues on both sides of the
aisle.
For more than 40 years, Head Start has provided comprehensive
services to poor families--health, nutrition, academic skills, family
literacy, and more--ensuring children get the cognitive, social-
emotional, and academic skills they need to succeed in kindergarten and
later in life. In New York, almost 50,000 families benefit from Head
Start services.
This bill takes several steps forward in strengthening Head Start
programs across the country. It dramatically expands Early Head Start--
a program created under the Clinton administration to reach children
from birth to age 3. Though we have decades of research underscoring
the importance of this stage of development, Early Head Start has only
been able to reach 3 percent of eligible infants and toddlers. This
conference report doubles Early Head Start funding from 10 percent to
20 percent to ensure more infants and toddlers receive services and
arrive at kindergarten ready to learn.
The conference report increases Head Start authorization by 6 percent
in the first year and 4 percent in the following 2 years. For years,
our Head Start providers have had to make difficult decisions in the
face of President Bush's budgets that have included flat-funding or
funding cuts, as well as the effects of inflation. Many centers had to
cut back on comprehensive services that Head Start families rely on. In

[[Page S14387]]

New York, programs have been forced to eliminate vital transportation
services. This much needed increase in funding will finally give Head
Start agencies the resources they need to maintain enrollment, improve
quality service levels, and provide for the necessary cost of living
increase for teachers.
The Head Start Improvement for School Readiness Act of 2007 enhances
teacher quality. Research has shown that the right teaching training
and successful instruction lead to successful Head Start programs.
Right now, about a third of Head Start teachers hold a bachelor's
degree. This bill will help increase the skills and training of more
Head Start teachers and increase the quality of instruction for Head
Start children. I am also pleased this conference report retains the
important roles parents have always maintained in Head Start programs,
including ensuring parents' voices are heard in Head Start's daily
operations.
The bill also increases a portion of the income eligibility
guidelines from the current 100 percent of poverty level to children in
families with income up to 130 percent of poverty. This is particularly
important for States like New York, where the cost of living is higher
than most States'. Many programs need flexibility in serving these
families earning just slightly above the poverty line, including the
ability to assist families who have moved off welfare and are now
working and struggling to make ends meet. For New York City, this
provision means thousands more children will be able to participate in
Head Start programs. This bill will give those hard working families
support as they become self sustainable.
This bill also terminates use of the National Reporting System, NRS.
I have expressed my concern about this test for several years now. In
2003, I joined my colleague Senator Bingaman in offering an amendment
during the markup of Head Start to suspend NRS. In 2005, the Government
Accountability Office produced a report underscoring our concerns when
it called into question the validity and reliability of the NRS. I am
pleased this bill suspends the unfair NRS test and asks the National
Academy of Sciences to make recommendations on an appropriate
assessment for young children.
Head Start is critical to ensuring our most vulnerable children enter
school ready to learn. Head Start has provided comprehensive services
to low-income families--from health and nutrition, to academic skills
and family literacy. I am pleased that we were able to move this bill
forward in this session in a bipartisan fashion. The Senate passage of
this bill is a victory for our neediest children and the Head Start
community that serves them.<bullet>
Mr. KENNEDY. I move to reconsider the vote and to lay that motion on
the table.
The motion to lay on the table was agreed to.
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Under the previous order, H. Con.
Res. 258 is adopted, and a motion to reconsider that vote is considered
made and laid on the table.
The resolution (H. Con. Res. 258) was agreed to.
Mr. DORGAN. Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The clerk will call the roll.
The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent the order for the
quorum call be rescinded.
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Salazar). Without objection, it is so
ordered.

____________________