Merkley, Wyden Join Colleagues to Champion Expanding Head Start for Working Families

Washington, D.C. - As the Trump Administration continues to attack and undermine Head Start, Oregon's U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden announced today they joined their Senate colleagues to introduce the Head Start for America's Children Act. This sweeping legislation would expand Head Start to ensure that more than 11 million young children from working-class families can access high-quality early education and comprehensive services, while also ensuring Head Start educators earn the wages they deserve.

"A good education is one of the foundations working families need to thrive. For six decades, Head Start has helped America's kids start off on the right foot by ensuring they are ready for kindergarten. But instead of supporting this vital program, the Trump Administration has illegally withheld crucial federal dollars for teachers and students," said Merkley. "Head Start programs are essential to making sure the doors of opportunity are open to every child in our country, and I'll keep fighting to deliver the resources that families in Oregon and across the nation need to thrive."

"Head Start has proven again and again that it gives students the support they need to succeed in early education and beyond," said Wyden. "As Donald Trump takes a wrecking ball to the programs that Oregon families rely on, I will continue to fight tooth and nail to defend this lifeline that helps families and kids thrive inside and outside the classroom."

As Ranking Member of the Senate Budget Committee, Merkley led the charge in calling on the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to investigate the Trump Administration for illegally impounding funds, including to Head Start. In July, the GAO published their finding that the Trump Administration did violate theImpoundment Control Act by withholding appropriated funding for the Head Start program.

The Head Start for America's Children Act was led by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP), and joining Merkley and Wyden as cosponsors of the bill are Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Peter Welch (D-Vt.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), John Fetterman (D-Pa.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Andy Kim (D-N.J.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), and Ben Ray Lujan (D-N.M.).

For 60 years, local Head Start programs have provided high-quality early education and comprehensive services for more than 40 million children and working-class families. Today, nearly 800,000 children receive early education, health and dental care, and healthy meals through Head Start, while their families access referrals for job training, adult education, nutrition services, and housing support.

Research shows that the first five years of a child's life are critical for social, emotional, and cognitive development. Head Start children are better prepared for kindergarten, have better health outcomes, and are more likely to graduate from high school and attend college. Yet in America today, families in most states pay more for child care than rent, mortgage payments, or in-state college tuition. High-quality early learning opportunities remain out of reach for millions, with 5.3 million children under the age of 6 - nearly 17% of children in America - living in poverty in 2023.

The Head Start for America's Children Act would:

• Fully fund Head Start to serve 11 million eligible young children and simplify enrollment;
• Align program hours with working families' schedules so parents do not need additional child care;
• Raise Head Start educator pay to at least $60,000 a year and establish salary scales and competitive benefits;
• Provide recruitment and retention incentives grants for up to 12,500 educators;
• Expand co-location of Head Start programs on college campuses and partnerships with child care providers;
• Strengthen and diversify the early educator pipeline to prepare at least 3,000 teachers over five years;
• Improve mental health services for Head Start staff, families and children; and
• Invest in facility upgrades, including removing lead contamination in paint and water.

The legislation is endorsed by the American Federation of Teachers, Zero to Three, MomsRising, the National Women's Law Center Action Fund, UnidosUS, Child Care for Every Family Network, The Arc of the United States, Council for Exceptional Children, Division for Early Childhood of the Council for Exceptional Children, New America's Early and Elementary Education Policy Program, and the Vermont Head Start Association.

Read the bill text by clicking here.

Read a summary by clicking here.

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