Panel Votes $33 Billion for Head Start

A Senate committee approved legislation Wednesday that would provide $33 billion over six years to guarantee Head Start preschool services to every eligible child between the ages of 3 and 5.

The Senate Labor and Human Resources Committee sent the bill to the Senate floor on a voice vote because Republican members threatened to oppose the measure if they were forced to record their vote.

Committee members praised the success of Head Start, a 25-year-old federal program that educates low-income preschoolers and provides nutritious meals and health screening. But most of the Republican members criticized language that requires specific amounts of money for the next six years.

The Bush Administration has requested increasing the Head Start budget in fiscal 1992 by $100 million for a total of $2.05 billion. Under the bill, Head Start would receive $3 billion for fiscal 1992 and $4 billion in 1993, with the amount increasing by $1 billion annually until 1997.