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 )  and the gentleman from delaware ( mr. castle )  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 .  