mr. chairman , i thank the gentlewoman for yielding me time . 
i would also like to thank the committee leadership on both sides of the aisle for ensuring that all interested parties had a seat at the table during our second try at reauthorizing the head start program . 
we also owe our thanks to the staff who have worked tirelessly to help get us to where we are today . 
i want to specifically thank ruth friedman for her years of work on behalf of the head start children . 
while this bill is not perfect , it is a remarkable improvement from last congress and is a good example for the progress that can be made through bipartisan cooperation . 
all of us know head start is a critically important program that provides much-needed services to some of our most disadvantaged children and their families . 
i would like to thank the gentleman from arizona ( mr. grijalva ) xz4001620 , the gentleman from michigan ( mr. ehlers ) xz4001190 , and the gentleman from texas ( mr. hinojosa ) xz4001790 for their advocacy for migrants and native americans . 
currently , indian head start is funded at approximately 2.9 percent of the head start budget . 
h.r. 2123 would establish a 3.5 set-aside for indian head start , allowing programs to benefit from approximately $ 45 million in additional resources , and i want to thank particularly the gentleman from ohio ( mr. boehner ) xz4000360 for putting that in his chairman 's mark . 
this bill is a significant departure from our efforts last congress to reauthorize head start . 
all committee members should be proud of the bipartisan work on this legislation . 
i strongly support the bill as it was passed out of the committee . 
however , i would be remiss , mr. chairman , if i did not express my concern over the amendment allowing religious discrimination that will be considered today . 
this bill represents a genuine bipartisan compromise . 
again , i would like to thank all parties that worked together in crafting this bill . 
