1. United States
2. Mich.
3. Letter

The Trump administration is asking Congress to eliminate funding for Head Start, (https://apnews.com/article/head-start-office-closures-hhs-trump-00b1a6b33ef918cb66e59b7ffb07ac13) a move that would cut early education for more than half a million of the nation’s neediest children and child care for their families. The proposal is tucked in a 64-page internal draft budget document obtained by The Associated Press that seeks deep cuts (https://apnews.com/article/health-agencies-cuts-70ae99161321f0b779e2e56d8d2db304) at the Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees Head Start. It is still in a highly preliminary phase as the White House prepares to send Congress its budget request for the 2026 fiscal year. The budget does not fund Head Start at all, leaving potentially thousands of families and children without the support services they’ve come to rely on. The Trump Administration claims that eliminating the program is consistent with their “goals of returning control of education to the states and increasing parental control.” “The federal government should not be in the business of mandating curriculum, locations, and performance standards for any form of education,” the document says. The Head Start program does none of that. Eliminating Head Start would cut off child care for hundreds of thousands of low-income families, for whom a day without work is often a day without pay. I’m asking that you please do everything you possibly can to protect Head Start and its crucial funding from any cuts whatsoever so that families can continue to thrive.