Statement of Administration Policy: H.R. 4151 - Human Services Reauthorization Act of 1990

(House Rules)
(Kildee (D) MI and 104 others)

The Administration supports reauthorization of the Head Start program and has requested a $500 million increase in funding for the program to $1.9 billion for FY 1991. The requested 36 percent increase would represent the largest single-year increase in the 25-year history of the program and would enable Head Start to enroll up to 180,000 additional children.

Although H.R. 4151 authorizes appropriations for Head Start, the bill is objectionable in a number of respects. The Administration strongly opposes H.R. 4151 because:

—  The authorization levels for the Head Start program are excessive: $2.4 billion for FY 1991, $4. 3 billion for FY 1992, increasing to $7. 7 billion for FY 1994.

—  Amendments to the Head Start program would reduce the percentage of funding for discretionary grants, and a substantial amount of funds would be earmarked for staffing, insurance, facility improvements, and transportation.

—  The bill would also extend the authorizations for the Community Services Block Grant (CSBG) and Follow Through programs. Both of these programs have achieved their objectives and should not continue to be federally funded. Community action agencies can compete successfully for funds from sources other than the CSBG, and those agencies should not receive special administrative funding. After more than 20 years as a small demonstration program, Follow Through has long since been replaced by new research and demonstration authorities and the $5 billion Chapter 1 compensatory education program.

Head Start program reauthorization must also be addressed when the House and Senate Conferees meet to resolve differences on the child care bills, H.R. 3 and S. 5. The House-passed H.R. 3 includes major changes and appropriations authorization increases for Head Star. The provisions in H.R. 4151 would be in addition to the Head Start provisions of H.R. 3. If the House were to approve a freestanding Head Start program authorization bill, any separate program expansion should be dropped in the child care conference.

Any expansion of Head Start should focus on increasing the number of children enrolled in the existing program, and funding levels should be considered within the fiscal constraints developed through the bipartisan budget negotiations.