WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) led 30 of her colleagues in introducing a bill to keep Head Start programs open during Republicans’ government shutdown, protecting vital childcare and early learning services for 750,000 pre-school children, infants, and toddlers.
“Head Start is more than a safe place for kids to get a jump on learning, it’s also a lifeline for working parents who need reliable preschool and childcare. While Republicans stonewall on helping us save Americans from higher health care costs and reopen the government, thousands of families who rely on Head Start are being left in the lurch as facilities shutter, children have nowhere to go, and parents weigh missing work or school to care for their kids. My bill would give families certainty that Head Start and the care it provides will continue,” said Senator Baldwin. “If my Republican colleagues don’t want to sit down and talk about saving 22 million Americans from skyrocketing health care costs, I hope they can at least agree that 750,000 children and their families shouldn’t pay the price for Washington dysfunction.”
Head Start serves roughly 750,000 children. As of November 1st, nearly 10% of all Head Start children were at risk of losing access to their classrooms. According to the National Head Start Association, 20 programs have either partially or fully closed, impacting nearly 10,000 children. Additionally, there are 140 Head Start programs serving approximately 65,000 children with grants up for renewal in October and early November that have not received their fiscal year 2026 grant funding.
The Keep Head Start Funded Act of 2025 ensures that Head Start programs will keep running and receiving funding even if Congress hasn’t passed a new budget yet.
“Simply put, there is broad bipartisan, bicameral support for Head Start in Congress, because it works. Unfortunately, 20 programs across 17 states and Puerto Rico, which together serve nearly 10,000 children, have already closed their doors as a direct result of the shutdown,” said Yasmina Vinci, Executive Director of the National Head Start Association. “We applaud Senator Baldwin’s leadership and solution-oriented approach with the Keep Head Start Funded Act, and we implore Congress to come together, pass a Continuing Resolution, and resolve the FY26 spending bills to ensure that Head Start can continue to serve children, families, and communities uninterrupted.”
This legislation is led by Senator Baldwin and co-sponsored by Senators Ed Markey (D-MA), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Chris Van Hollen (MD), Jack Reed (D-RI), Ben Ray Lujan (D-NM), Peter Welch (D-VT), Mark Kelly (D-AZ), Andy Kim (D-NJ), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Michael Bennet (D-CO), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Rev. Raphael Warnock (D-GA), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Tina Smith (D-MN), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD), Chris Coons (D-DE), Adam Schiff (D-CA), Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), Alex Padilla (D-CA), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Patty Murray (D-WA), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), and Gary Peters (D-MI).
Senator Baldwin’s bill to reopen Head Start programs comes as President Donald Trump has made clear all year that he wants to end Head Start. Draft budget documents showed that the Trump administration wanted to eliminate Head Start as part of its Fiscal Year 2026 budget proposal. Earlier this year, the Trump Administration also illegally froze Congressionally approved funding for Head Start, forcing at least one program in Wisconsin to close. In July, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report that found the Trump Administration and Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) illegally impounded funding approved by Congress for Head Start programs.
In April, Senator Baldwin led a group of 41 Senators in calling out the Trump administration’s direct attacks on Head Start and demanding his Department of Health and Human Services immediately release Head Start funding, reverse the mass firing of Head Start staff, and stop gutting the offices that help ensure high-quality child care is available for thousands of children and families across the country. She also pressed HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy on this frozen funding at a Senate hearing in May. She visited a Head Start facility in Waukesha, Wisconsin to talk with families, leadership, and staff about the impact of the illegal funding freeze after they were forced to close their doors earlier this year.
As the Ranking Member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee for Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies, Senator Baldwin’s bill to fund the Department of Health and Human Services includes $12.4 billion for Head Start, an $85 million increase.
Full text of this legislation is available here.
An online version of this release is available here.
