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Wednesday, October 27, 2010

House Lawmakers Champion Early Childhood Funding - Politics K-12 - Education Week

House Lawmakers Champion Early Childhood Funding - Politics K-12 - Education Week

House Lawmakers Champion Early Childhood Funding

Time might be running out for advocates of early childhood programs to see some sort of new investment in a fund to help states improve their programs, a priority for the Democratic administration and members of both parties in the Democratic-For-Now Congress.

A group of House lawmakers, including both Democrats and Republicans, has sent a letter to Rep. David Obey, the chairman of the House Appropriations panel that oversees K-12 spending, and Rep. Todd Tiahart of Kansas, the top Republican, asking them to pretty please support a $300 million investment in early childhood programs already approved by Senate lawmakers.

The Senate Appropriations Committee passed a bill last summer that would provide the money for a new Early Learning Challenge Fund. It's unclear if the House version includes the language because the House