mr. chairman , i rise in strong support of the school readiness act . 
let me first begin by recognizing the tremendous efforts of my colleagues , the gentleman from ohio ( mr. boehner ) xz4000360 and the gentleman from delaware ( mr. castle ) xz4000700 in crafting a good bill . 
as a former teacher and elementary principal , i am aware of the necessity of a first-rate education and need to ensure that children have adequate skills before entering kindergarten . 
as chairman of the labor-hhs-education subcommittee of the committee on appropriations , funding head start in the amount of $ 6 billion , this bill will achieve a better use of those moneys . 
for over four decades the head start program has provided comprehensive early childhood development services to low-income children . 
by providing educational , health , nutritional , social and other services to the most needy in our society , this program prepares children to enter kindergarten and to improve the conditions necessary for their success in later school and life . 
head start strongly emphasizes the involvement of families in the local community to ensure that the programs are responsive to the unique needs of each community . 
as you know , in the aftermath of hurricane katrina , the head start bureau has urged all of its grantees to provide head start services to any displaced children and families now in their communities . 
very important , so they do not fall behind . 
as successful as head start has been , i believe that the program can be even more successful by maintaining the comprehensive services already provided and enhancing the academic component . 
consistent with the goal of strengthening this program , h.r. 2123 will help to eliminate financial mismanagement by increasing the competitive nature of the current program . 
the competition requirements are intended to help drive program improvement across the board and to ensure that the $ 6 billion we spend is spent constructively and wisely . 
mr. chairman , i would like to emphasize that a good education is the cornerstone for success in life and that it is critical to have the basic skills to build the foundation before entering kindergarten . 
we have found a large dropout problem in our inner-city schools , in some cases exceeding 50 percent . 
in fact , the national average is 32 percent . 
and this is a terrible waste of human resources . 
in many cases , the students dropping out can not read at beyond the elementary school level , and see no reason to stay in school when they can not keep up with the school work . 
the problems of dropouts and illiteracy do not begin in high school . 
they manifest themselves in high school , but they begin in elementary and pre-elementary . 
these problems begin in the school when the students fall behind their classmates in the early years , because they did not start with the same skill sets . 
we need to ensure that these students have an equal start , and h.r. 2123 will help us in the mission . 
