190 Members Of Congress Slam HHS Effort To Dismantle Head Start

Leaders Schumer & Jeffries, Senators Sanders, Warnock & Luján, And Representatives Scott, Bonamici & Budzinski Lead Bicameral Group Of Lawmakers In Demanding Trump Administration Halt Planned Gutting Of Head Start

Washington, D.C. - One hundred ninety Members of Congress demanded that the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) withdraw its proposal to remove more than 90 percent of Head Start's standards that ensure children receive a high-quality early education. Under the proposed rule, nearly one in ten children currently enrolled in Head Start could become ineligible overnight.

In the Senate, the letter is led by Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee Ranking Member Sanders (I-VT), Senator Raphael Warnock (D-GA), and Senator Ben Ray Luján (D-NM). In the House, the letter is led by House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY-08), Education and Workforce Committee Ranking Member Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (D-VA-03), Early Childhood and Elementary and Secondary Education Subcommittee Ranking Member Bonamici (D-OR-01), and Representative Nikki Budzinski (D-IL-13).

The Members are concerned that the proposed rule would illegally modify and weaken the services required by the Head Start Act. Specifically, the rule would eliminate federal quality standards for Head Start classrooms, including safety standards, staff-to-child ratios, staff qualifications, and standards for teaching. Additionally, the rule would erode critical services Head Start provides children and families, including health services. It would also shorten Head Start operating hours, eliminate enrollment protections for children with disabilities, and undermine services for dual language learners.

"This proposed rule is a brazen attempt to dismantle Head Start without regard for the hundreds of thousands of young children and working-class families who depend on these programs and services every year. Under your proposal, Head Start children could be subject to corporal punishment; left unsupervised; have larger class sizes; have less qualified teachers; and no longer receive preventative and continuous health services, including oral health and mental health services," wrote the Members. "We strongly urge you to withdraw the proposed rule, obey the law, and protect the legacy of Head Start."

Since the beginning of the second Trump Administration, HHS has repeatedly attempted to undermine and disrupt Head Start programs with an aggressive deregulation agenda, illegally withholding funding, firing federal staff, and threats to eliminate the program entirely. These actions serve the Trump Administration's goal to end the Head Start program as laid out on page 482 of Project 2025.

In the Senate, the letter was signed by: Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Senators Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Raphael Warnock (D-GA), Ben Ray Luján?(D-NM), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Michael Bennet (D-CO), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Christopher Coons (D-DE), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Richard Durbin (D-IL), John Fetterman (D-PA), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Timothy Kaine (D-VA), Mark Kelly (D-AZ), Andy Kim (D-NJ), Angus King (I-ME), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Edward J. Markey (D-MA), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Patty Murray (D-WA), Alex Padilla (D-CA), Gary Peters (D-MI), Jack Reed (D-RI), Adam Schiff (D-CA), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Tina Smith (D-MN), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Mark R. Warner (D-VA), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Peter Welch (D-VT), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), and Ron Wyden (D-OR).

In the House, the letter was signed by: House Democratic Leader Hakeem S. Jeffries (NY-08) and Representatives Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (VA-03), Gabe Amo (RI-01), Becca Balint (VT-AL), Joyce Beatty (OH-03), Wesley Bell (MO-01), Donald S. Beyer (VA-08), Sanford Bishop (GA-02), Everton Blair (GA-13), Suzanne Bonamici (OR-01), Brendan F. Boyle (PA-02), Shontel M. Brown (OH-11), Julia Brownley (CA-26), Nikki Budzinski (IL-13), Janelle Bynum (OR-05), Salud O. Carbajal (CA-24), Andre Carson (IN-07), Troy A. Carter (LA-02), Greg Casar (TX-35), Ed Case (HI-01), Kathy Castor (FL-14), Joaquin Castro (TX-20), Judy Chu (CA-28), Gilbert R. Cisneros Jr. (CA-31), Katherine M. Clark (MA-05), Yvette D. Clarke (NY-09), Emanuel Cleaver (MO-05), Steve Cohen (TN-09), J. Luis Correa (CA-46), Jim Costa (CA-21), Joe Courtney (CT-02), Jason Crow (CO-06), Sharice Davids (KS-03), Danny K. Davis (IL-07), Donald G. Davis (NC-01), Madeleine Dean (PA-04), Diana DeGette (CO-01), Rosa L. DeLauro (CT-03), Suzan K. DelBene (WA-01), Christopher R. Deluzio (PA-17), Mark DeSaulnier (CA-10), Maxine Dexter (OR-3), Lloyd Doggett (TX-37), Sarah Elfreth (MD-3), Adriano Espaillat (NY-13), Dwight Evans (PA-3), Bill Foster (IL-11), Laura Friedman (CA-30), Maxwell Alejandro Frost (FL-10), John Garamendi (CA-8), Robert Garcia (CA-42), Jesús G. "Chuy" García (IL-04), Sylvia R. Garcia (TX-29), Jimmy Gomez (CA-34), Vicente Gonzalez (TX-34), Maggie Goodlander (NH-02), Josh Gottheimer (NJ-05), Adelita S. Grijalva (AZ-07), Jahana Hayes (CT-05), Pablo José Hernández (PR-AL), James A. Himes (CT-04), Steven Horsford (NV-04), Steny H. Hoyer (MD-05), Jared Huffman (CA-02), Glenn Ivey (MD-04), Jonathan L. Jackson (IL-01), Sara Jacobs (CA-51), Pramila Jayapal (WA-07), Marcy Kaptur (OH-09), Robin L. Kelly (IL-02), Timothy M. Kennedy (NY-26), Ro Khanna (CA-17), Raja Krishnamoorthi (IL-08), Greg Landsman (OH-01), Rick Larsen (WA-02), Summer L. Lee (PA-12), Teresa Leger Fernandez (NM-03), Ted Lieu (CA-36), Zoe Lofgren (CA-18), Stephen F. Lynch (MA-08), John W. Mannion (NY-22), Doris O. Matsui (CA-07), Lucy McBath (GA-06), Sarah McBride (DE-AL), April McClain Delaney (MD-06), Jennifer L. McClellan (VA-04), Betty McCollum (MN-04), Kristen McDonald Rivet (MI-08), James P. McGovern (MA-02), LaMonica McIver (NJ-10), Grace Meng (NY-06), Kweisi Mfume (MD-07), Kelly Morrison (MN-03), Frank J. Mrvan (IN-01), Kevin Mullin (CA-15), Jerrold Nadler (NY-12), Richard E. Neal (MA-01), Donald Norcross (NJ-01), Eleanor Holmes Norton (DC-AL), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY-14), Johnny Olszewski Jr. (MD-02), Ilhan Omar (MN-05), Jimmy Panetta (CA-19), Chris Pappas (NH-01), Nancy Pelosi (CA-11), Scott H. Peters (CA-50), Brittany Petterson (CO-07), Chellie Pingree (ME-01), Mark Pocan (WI-02), Nellie Pou (NJ-09), Ayanna Pressley (MA-07), Mike Quigley (IL-05), Delia C. Ramirez (IL-03), Emily Randall (WA-06), Jamie B. Raskin (MD-08), Josh Riley (NY-19), Deborah K. Ross (NC-02), Andrea Salinas (OR-06), Linda T. Sanchez (CA-38), Mary Gay Scanlon (PA-05), Janice D. Schakowsky (IL-09), Bradley Scott Schneider (IL-10), Hillary J. Scholten (MI-03), Terri A. Sewell (AL-07), Brad Sherman (CA-32), Lateefah Simon (CA-12), Adam Smith (WA-09), Eric Sorensen (IL-17), Darren Soto (FL-09), Melanie A. Stansbury (NM-01), Greg Stanton (AZ-04), Haley M. Stevens (MI-11), Marilyn Strickland (WA-10), Suhas Subramanyam (VA-10), Mark Takano (CA-39), Bennie G. Thompson (MS-02), Mike Thompson (CA-04), Dina Titus (NV-01), Rashida Tlaib (MI-12), Jill N. Tokuda (HI-02), Paul Tonko (NY-20), Norma J. Torres (CA-35), Ritchie Torres (NY-15), Lori Trahan (MA-03), Derek Tran (CA-45), Gabe Vasquez (NM-02), James Walkinshaw (VA-11), Debbie Wasserman Shultz (FL-25), Bonnie Watson Coleman (NJ-12), George Whitesides (CA-27), Nikema Williams (GA-05), and Frederica S. Wilson (FL-24).

To read the full letter, click here.

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