In a strong show of bipartisan support, the House voted last week to increase the funding authorization for Head Start to accommodate the rise in fiscal 1990 spending for the program proposed by President Bush.
Mr. Bush promised throughout his campaign to increase funding for the preschool program, which provides education, nutrition, and health services to low-income children between the ages of 3 and 5.
The bill, which passed by a voice vote, would raise the authorized fiscal 1990 spending by $147 million, to $1.55 billion.
It is one of the few Bush budget requests expected to draw such overwhelming bipartisan support, observers said. During House debate on the measure, members of both parties said it was only a small step and that they wished they could do more.
Representatives Dale E. Kildee, Democrat of Michigan, and Thomas J. Tauke, Republican of Iowa, managed the bill’s passage.
Mr. Tauke said the increase would allow an additional 95,000 children to enroll in the program. Head Start currently serves 448,000 children, about 16 percent of those eligible.
The Senate must now take similar action before the money can be added to the 1990 budget through the regular appropriations process.
