Himes Statement on Bridgeport Head Start Closures Stemming from Government Shutdown
Calls on Irresponsible Tea Party to Reopen Government
WASHINGTON, DC—Congressman Jim Himes (CT-4) released the following statement in response to the shuttering of HEAD START sites in Bridgeport, CT. Action for Bridgeport Community Development (ABCD), the Community Action Agency that runs Head Start programs in Bridgeport, did not receive funding because the government shutdown halted distribution of Head Start grants whose grant cycles begin on October 1 or later, including ABCD’s.
“It is absolutely unconscionable that, because of petulant behavior by a small minority of irresponsible Members of Congress, nearly a thousand Bridgeport children are denied an education, their parents must choose between work and leaving children home unattended, and hundreds of teachers sit at home temporarily unemployed. It is time for the Tea Party to come to the table, leave their ridiculous demands at home, and act on a budget that fully funds the United States Government.”
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Congressman Jim Himes represents Connecticut’s 4th District, which includes the communities of Bridgeport, Darien, Easton, Fairfield, Greenwich, Monroe, New Canaan, Norwalk, Oxford, Redding, Ridgefield, Shelton, Stamford, Trumbull, Weston, Westport, and Wilton.