{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://landsman.house.gov/posts/landsman-hayes-lofgren-lead-legislation-to-invest-in-quality-early-childhood-education", "Landsman, Hayes, Lofgren Lead Legislation to Invest in Quality Early Childhood Education", "2026-08-17", "2026", "2026-08", "Democrat", "House", "OH", "Greg Landsman", "L000601", "landsman.house.gov", "landsman", "https://landsman.house.gov/press", "scraper", "Cincinnati, OH \u2013 Congressman Greg Landsman (D-OH-01), Congresswoman Jahanna Hayes (D-CT-05), and Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren (D-CA-18) introduced legislation to significantly invest in and improve the Head Start program.\n\nHead Start is a federally funded program that provides free early childhood education and family support to help prepare children for school. Head Start is critical in our communities but is under-resourced, outdated, and understaffed.\n\nIn response, Reps. Landsman, Hayes, and Lofgren introduced the Head Start Expansion and Improvement Act \u2013 comprehensive legislation to triple annual funding for Head Start and Early Head Start to $36 billion for Fiscal Years 2027-2032.\n\nThe Head Start Expansion and Improvement Act would:\n\nExpand eligibility to include families who are at or below 138 percent of the Federal Poverty Level.\n\nExpand eligibility to include families who are eligible for TANF, SSI, SNAP, WIC, or CHIP.\n\nEstablish a grant program to renovate, expand, and acquire facilities.\n\nEstablish a grant program to increase salaries for Head Start and Early Head Start workers.\n\nProvide student loan forgiveness for Head Start and Early Head Start workers.\n\nCongressman Landsman:\n\n\u201cHigh quality preschool makes such a difference in our children\u2019s lives, and Head Start gives families the support they need to succeed. Our legislation will help more families give their children the best possible start.\u201d\n\nCongresswoman Hayes:\n\n\u201cHead Start is one of the greatest anti-poverty programs that we have. It offers high-quality education, health, and social services to the youngest and most vulnerable among us during a critical developmental stage. The Head Start Expansion and Improvement Act demands immediate action in addressing the growing needs of this vital program and allows more families to access its services.\u201d\n\nCongresswoman Lofgren:\n\n\u201cIt\u2019s critical that America\u2019s children receive a first-class education and have opportunities that create a solid learning foundation. Under the Trump administration, critical federal education programs and agencies have been increasingly under threat. For more than 60 years, Head Start has played an important role in helping children enter school ready to learn and succeed. I am proud to join Reps. Hayes and Landsman in introducing the Head Start Expansion and Improvement Act to protect and preserve the Head Start program.\u201d\n\n###", 1, "2026-08-18T05:27:41Z", "2026-08-18T05:29:06Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://landsman.house.gov/posts/landsman-hayes-lofgren-lead-legislation-to-invest-in-quality-early-childhood-education"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 4.3298909440636635, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}