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1994.04.13 : Shalala Hails Head Start Reauthorization Bill 

Contact:  HHS Press Office 
Wednesday, April 13, 1994                    (202) 690-6343 


          SHALALA HAILS HEAD START REAUTHORIZATION BILL 

     HHS Secretary Donna E. Shalala issued the following statement 
following action by the Senate Labor and Human Resources Committee, 
unanimously reporting out S.2000, legislation to reauthorize the 
Head Start program: 

     "I applaud the Senate Labor and Human Resources Committee for 
the swift action it has taken toward reauthorization of the Head 
Start program.  This is an important step in creating a new and 
better Head Start program for our nation. 

     "With bipartisan support, the committee has moved ahead not 
only to expand Head Start services and to improve the existing 
program, but also to enlarge the very concept of Head Start by 
extending services to younger children, those 0-3 years old. 

     "The remaking of the Head Start program will extend over many 
years, but the process is beginning today.   

     "We will insist on high quality throughout the program.  We 
will link Head Start to a continuum of services for children who 
need our help.  And we will begin extending the Head Start advantage 
to our youngest children. 

     "It is fitting that this unanimous action comes at just the 
time when a new report by the Carnegie Corporation shows how 
urgently we need to address the problems of our 0-3 year-old 
children.  I am convinced that by extending Head Start benefits to 
younger children, we will multiply the proven positive effects of 
Head Start. 

     "Our young children are the winners from this legislation, and 
so is the future of our nation." 



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