The Congressional Record is a unique source of public documentation. It started in 1873, documenting nearly all the major and minor policies being discussed and debated.
“HEAD START REAUTHORIZATION” mentioning the U.S. Dept of Agriculture was published in the Extensions of Remarks section on pages E1021 on May 19, 2005.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
HEAD START REAUTHORIZATION
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HON. DENNIS J. KUCINICH
of ohio
in the house of representatives
Wednesday, May 18, 2005
Mr. KUCINICH. Mr. Speaker, the goal of Head Start has always been to help young children in low-income families, specifically those below the poverty line, prepare for school. Head Start has focused its resources on the children most in need, and has been successful in narrowing the gap between disadvantaged children and their peers. Today, we can correct a problem in Head Start and ensure that it serves all the children it was intended to.
The poverty thresholds were developed in the early 1960s and at that time statistics showed that families typically spent one-third of their income on food. The thresholds were designed to take the costs of the Department of Agriculture's economy food plan for families and multiply the costs by a factor of three. Currently, the calculations of the poverty line for Head Start are adjusted by the Consumer Price Index annually to account for the growth in prices. Unfortunately, the current calculation leaves important factors out of the calculation of the poverty line.
Adjusting only for changes in price growth ignores the reality that times have changed. It is not 1965. Today, families are much more likely to spend significant portions of their income on housing. It is more likely that both parents will be working full time jobs. Both childcare costs and the likelihood that a family will need it have also increased.
Additionally, the failure to adjust the poverty line as wages have grown now means that families in poverty today are worse off relative to the typical family than families in poverty were 40 years ago. For instance, the threshold for a family of four, when the poverty thresholds were first introduced--$18,810 in 2003 dollars--was 42 percent of the median income of a family that size. By 2003, the value of the poverty threshold for a family of four had fallen to 35.7 percent. Adjusting only for changes in price growth for the past 40 years has slowly eroded the group of intended recipients. Now we are left with families in need of assistance whose children are not even eligible for Head Start.
This amendment seeks to bridge the gap that has been created and ensure that it will not be created again in the future. Currently, the 2005 poverty line for a family of 3 is $16,090. By tying the poverty line to wage growth, rather than price growth, the poverty line for a family of 3 would become $19,610. The increase in the poverty line produced by this change by no means raises eligibility to include every child who could benefit from Head Start. But this adjustment will significantly help the families who should have been eligible all along. It is a step in the right direction; the direction of ensuring that the working poor are given the help they need to survive.
This committee is not only charged with ensuring that Head Start programs are performing well but with ensuring that they are serving all the children they were intended to. This amendment will help to ensure that children do not continue to be left behind. I urge my colleagues on the Committee on Education and Workforce to join me in supporting my amendment.
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