On March 14, the House Education and Labor Committee approved the Improving Head Start Act of 2007 (H.R.1429) after defeating an amendment that would have allowed faith-based organizations to hire teachers for the Head Start program based on religion. Attempts to insert such language into Head Start were unsuccessful in the past. This is the first time the issue has come up in the 110th Congress. The controversial provision was defeated 26-19 on a party line vote, and the overall bill passed 42-1. However, the amendment could be brought up again when the bill is considered on the House floor, which may occur before Congress' April recess. The amendment, offered by Resident Commissioner Louis Fortuno (R-PR), dominated the debate during the markup hearing. Head Start is the federal early education program for disadvantaged children. Currently, faith-based groups that offer Head Start programs cannot consider religious preferences when hiring. The Fortuno amendment would have repealed that rule but still restricted groups from religious proselytizing with federal funds. The amendment states that the religious organization "shall retain its religious character and control over the definition, development, practice, and expression of its religious beliefs." If passed, the amendment would have undermined civil rights laws, removed religious liberty protections, and thus allowed religious discrimination in an essential early education program, where children have diverse religious backgrounds. In short, the amendment would have granted religious organizations that participate in the Head Start program the right to discriminate with federal funds. Currently, many Head Start grantees are faith-based organizations, and they may use religion as criteria for hiring with their non-federal funds. Rep. Dale Kildee (D-MI) expressed his opposition to the amendment during the hearing. "Head Start teachers should be chosen because they are qualified and effective teachers who will help children succeed and thrive. Hiring and firing decisions should not be made because of the teacher's religion." The proposal was included in last year's Head Start reauthorization bill, but it stalled in the Senate. However, support has stubbornly re-merged. Republican members on the committee, led by Ranking Member Howard P. McKeon (R-CA) issued a fact sheet outlining why the amendment should be supported. It states, "Faith-based organizations have a federally protected right to maintain their religious nature and character through those they hire. These organizations willing to serve their communities by participating in federal programs should not be forced to give up that right." Supporters argued that religious groups should be able hire based on religion as a way to better serve the community and to maintain their religious identity. McKeon's stance ignores some fundamental factors in the debate. As Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) commented, "I see this as being a real constitutional question. Repealing civil rights protections that have been in Head Start for more than 20 years could cause already at risk 3- to 4-year-olds to lose teachers with whom they've built close bonds simply because of a teacher's religion." Religious, civil rights, labor, health, and advocacy organizations, acting through the Coalition Against Religious Discrimination (CARD), sent a letter to the committee calling on members to oppose the Fortuno amendment. OMB Watch is a part of this coalition and signed on to the letter. There was a short time period for groups to react, yet thanks to these efforts and to those on the committee who recognized the measure's dangerous implications, the amendment was voted down. The reauthorization bill did not include a problematic provision that was introduced but failed to pass in 2005. It would have created barriers to voter registration by nonprofits sponsoring Head Start programs by extending a ban on use of Head Start funds for voter registration to encompass the privately funded activity. Twenty percent of Head Start monies are private funds. For details of the 2005 proposal, see the Nov. 29, 2005, OMB Watcher article Fate in Senate of Nonprofit Gag Provision Uncertain.