Appointment of Conferees on H.R. 1429, Improving Head Start Act of 2007

APPOINTMENT OF CONFEREES ON H.R. 1429, IMPROVING HEAD START ACT OF 2007 -- (House of Representatives - November 06, 2007)

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Mr. WILSON of South Carolina. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to offer my support for this motion to instruct conferees which will cap the amount Head Start employees may be paid at the executive schedule level to an amount currently equal to $168,000.

I want to thank my colleague, Congressman MIKE CASTLE, the former Governor of Delaware, who is a champion for education, for offering this motion. This is a commonsense motion. It is fiscally responsible for us to use taxpayers' money, and it is a fair compromise for the Head Start employees.

If this cap is not adopted, a Head Start employee could be paid up to $186,000, an $18,000 difference and a substantial amount of money that would be better spent on Head Start classroom teachers and other aspects of this program.

Fiscal responsibility means not just being cautious in how much we spend. It is just as important to be responsible in where we spend.

When you have Head Start classroom teachers making an average of $25,000 annually, it is disrespectful to divert more money and give it to employees already making well over six figures.

As the husband of a teacher, I hope my colleagues will join me in being effective about how we spend the taxpayers' money for the children.

Again, I want to thank my colleague, MIKE CASTLE, for bringing this motion to the floor.

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