Update: The Senate HELP Committee voted 12-10 in favor of the “Strong Start for America’s Children Act.”
At 10:00 A.M. EDT, May 14, 2014, the U.S. Senate Committee on Health Education Labor and Pensions (HELP) brought Chairman Sen. Tom Harkin’s (IA) early childhood education bill, “Strong Start for America’s Children Act,” up for a vote. The vote will be streamed live here.
This HELP Committee markup follows the three hearings Chairman Harkin has led on early childhood education this session of Congress. It is the final step before bringing the bill to the Senate floor. Earlier this year, Education Secretary Arne Duncan defended early childhood education funding in one of the HELP Committee hearings.
You can follow the hearing on Twitter at @HELPCmteDems or @SenatorHarkin or @GOPHELP.
As our lawmakers consider early childhood education funding, we believe they must consider music education as a part of quality early childhood education programs.
Laura Lewis Brown, “The Benefits of Music Education,” PBS.
Catherina Hurlburt, Special Assistant, May 14, 2014. © National Association for Music Education (NAfME.org)
