Berkley fails to include amendment

Suzanne Struglinski

Friday, July 25, 2003 | 11:27 a.m.

WASHINGTON -- An attempt by Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., to add extra money for Head Start targeted to fast-growing areas such as Las Vegas did not make the cut in the House version of the $6.8 billion Head Start reauthorization bill, approved this morning.

The bill still needs Senate consideration.

Berkley's failed amendment would have included an additional $50 million for states with rapidly growing populations of children under 6. This could have brought an additional $1 million to Nevada, based on the most recent census figures, according to Berkley's office.

About $21 million in 2002 went to Nevada Head Start, a federal pre-kindergarten program created in 1965 for low-income and disadvantaged children. The state has five programs over 10 counties, including Clark County, along with three other program in tribal regions.

About 2,950 Nevada children participated in the state's Head Start program in the 2001-2002 program year, according to the Health and Human Services Department, which oversees the program. To qualify for Head Start in Nevada, a family a four can earn up to $18,400 per year.

Berkley noted that due to funding shortfalls paired with the area's steady growth, only one in four eligible students in Nevada can now enroll in Head Start.

The reauthorization bill's passage, which came by one vote 217-216, was mainly along party lines. Reps. Jim Gibbons, R-Nev., and Jon Porter, R-Nev., voted in favor of the measure while Berkley, who returned to Washington on Thursday, voted against it. The bill authorizes funds for the program through 2008.

An initial change to shift the program from the Health and Human Services Department to the Education Department was not included in the final bill.