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 )  for the work , and the committee members for this new additional funding for the seasonal migrant workers .  