mr. chairman , i want to focus on the extra provisions dealing with the migrant and seasonal head start programs . 
these programs are among the most essential , providing comprehensive education , health care , child care services to the families who often have literally nowhere else to go . 
i am familiar with this , working with the texas migrant council in my district , laredo , texas . 
this year we are breaking new ground by mandating at least 5 percent of the head start budget to go to migrant and seasonal programs . 
i want to thank the chairman and the members of the committee for this . 
this increase even by 1 percent means a lot , going from 4 to 5 percent . 
it would permit migrant and seasonal head start to serve as many as 10 , 000 additional children . 
this is a case where a small increase in funding can make a big difference to a lot of children , changing the path they are on . 
i want to emphasize that this program is extremely important . 
i know that for the migrant farm worker population facing a unique set of challenges , working on a seasonal basis , migrant families often have to move from state to state during the year , making it extremely difficult for the children to get in and remain in high-quality educational programs . 
when they are in the fields , parents often work 12 hours a day or more , making it very difficult for child care . 
this is why this provision is extremely important . 
this program is important , and i know because i am also the son of migrant workers . 
i want to thank the chairman and the ranking member ( ms. woolsey ) xz4004360 for the work , and the committee members for this new additional funding for the seasonal migrant workers . 
