The House Education and the Workforce Committee on Wednesday unanimously approved a Head Start reauthorization bill that is likely to encounter tougher passage on the floor because of a partisan dispute. The panel voted 48-0 for the legislation (HR 2123), which would rewrite the guidelines for the $6.8 billion federal child development program that is operated locally by nonprofit organizations and religious charities. Head Start was last reauthorized in 1998 (PL 105-285). Congress has struggled for two years to reauthorize the program because of a battle over a White House proposal for some states to take over their local centers.