mr. chairman , i rise in strong support of h.r. 2123 , the school readiness act , which will strengthen the head start program by closing the readiness gap that exists between low and upper income children .  i want to thank my good friends , chairman boehner and congressman castle , for their hard work on this important piece of legislation .  created in 1965 and located in every community in the country , head start has been a valuable part of our nation in preparing lower-income children for elementary school .  however , in spite of the good efforts of the program , there are still shortcomings that need to be addressed .  we can do more to ensure that the disadvantaged children in this country are better prepared for school .  a readiness gap still exists between children in head start and their more affluent peers .  the bill before us today will improve the head start program to help close the readiness gap by strengthening academic standards .  the bill emphasizes cognitive development and the use of scientifically-based research in topics critical to a child 's school readiness .  this bill also seeks to protect parents and taxpayers from financial mismanagement in the head start program .  the federal government invests nearly $ 7 billion in the program , but sadly , dozens of media stories and an independent investigation by the government accountability office revealed problems in the financial management of some head start grantees .  we should do all that we can to ensure that head start dollars are going to meet the needs of the students and are not wasted due to a few bad grantees .  the school readiness act strengthens safeguards to protect against financial abuse .  mr. chairman , this bill received unanimous support in committee , and i hope that it will also receive the full support of the whole house .  h.r. 2123 is a good bill that will improve the lives and educational needs of our nation 's most vulnerable children .  i urge my colleagues to support the bill .  