mr. chairman , i rise today to address the house about h.r. 2123 , the head start school readiness act of 2005 . 
once again , we gather here to address the needs of the nation 's youth and debate how we will meet those needs . 
for the past 30 years , head start has set the foundation for the educational achievement of most young children in this country and has many of today 's successful young adults as its proof of effectiveness . 
many years ago , we did the necessary research and identified the conditions under which young children are more receptive to learning . 
we realized that it would take special effort and targeted resources to prepare children for the rigors of the academic day . 
from the beginning until today , we have implemented changes to reflect technological advances , changing demographics , professional advancements , etc . 
we , as a nation , have risen to the call of our children and provided a caring , nurturing responsive environment for them . 
we spend millions of dollars every year training teachers to carry out the head start function . 
mr. chairman , we also lose those well-trained individuals one after the other because we professionally abandon them after we have spent hard earned dollars training them . 
along with my colleague from illinois , i sought to provide the authorization for head start to implement salary and work incentives to retain trained teachers in the head start program . 
the amendment was not ruled in order and we have not had the opportunity to even have a discussion about the amendment . 
we proposed up to $ 300 million to aid the many head start programs nationwide . 
mr. chairman , rejecting my amendment i believe deprived the american people of an opportunity to hear how their elected representatives viewed something as critical as head start . 
it would have given the voting public an opportunity to compare how we prioritize items . 
they would have heard us debate how to spend our scarce dollars . 
they would have had a reference point and a window seat to observe how we determined what is important and measure that with what they think is important . 
to some the comparison may have been head start versus iraq ; for some it may have even been head start versus health care ; for others it may have been head start versus affordable housing . 
as one who has fought tirelessly for the victims of natural and manmade disasters , i have supported every effort to rebuild new york after 9/11 ; i have supported every dime of supplemental funds for the victims of hurricane katrina ; i have supported appropriations bills for every conceivable assistance package this country has had to provide . 
i now stand in support of retaining qualified certified and government-trained teachers in a head start program free from discrimination , prejudice and intolerance . 
i submit to you , mr. chairman , it is not too much to spend and it is right on time . 
in any case , the people will not get that chance . 
they will never know if we may have carefully studied this issue and decide teacher retention was a worthy , valuable and cost effective expense . 
what they will hear is a debate on an amendment designed to re-introduce discrimination and disadvantage to a program created to overcome the vestiges of poverty , racism , and academic neglect . 
this house will debate an amendment today to permit faith-based recipients of federal head start dollars to discriminate against individual based on their individual , guaranteed right of free religious affiliation . 
as a former judge and prosecutor and an american -- i am offended and insulted . 
we as a body can not effect a simple reauthorization because each time we get to a bi-partisan agreement to move head start in to the 21st century -- this poison pill provision rears its ugly head . 
not to mention separation of church and state . 
mr. chairman , this is a sad and unfortunate event in the history of this august body : that after over 200 years as a sovereign country -- with a checkered past , at best , on discrimination , we now debate discrimination by statute in the case of our young and budding leaders of tomorrow . 
i rise in objection to this amendment to permit discrimination based on religious affiliation in the head start program . 
i raise the highest objection that i can to rolling back over 200 years of progress on justice , harmony and tolerance . 
i rise in objection to holding the future of head start hostage to this provision . 
equally important , i rise to object to the proverbial slap in the face this amendment visits upon true and significant bipartisanship . 
i commend the chairman and the ranking minority on the education and workforce committee for their commitment to the children of this nation by presenting a bill free of polarizing provisions . 
unlike so many contentious issues brought before the house , bipartisanship was not d.o.a. -- '' dead on arrival. '' instead , a bipartisan , thought provoking legislative initiative was d.u.a. -- '' dead under attack. '' mr. chairman , i urge my colleagues to reject this amendment and let head start get on with the business of preparing america 's youth for tomorrow . 
