# 119-hr-9958: Head Start Expansion and Improvement Act of 2026

119-hr-9958, Head Start Expansion and Improvement Act of 2026, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Rep. Hayes, Jahana [D-CT-5] (D-CT); status introduced; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-09-20).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-9958
- As of: 2026-09-20
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-hr-9958
- Congress: 119
- Title: Head Start Expansion and Improvement Act of 2026
- Status: introduced
- Introduced: 2026-07-27
- Sponsor: Rep. Hayes, Jahana [D-CT-5] (D-CT)
- Cosponsors: 22
- Policy area: Education
- Touches household money: yes
- Last recorded action: 2026-09-20

## Summary

**Would sharply expand Head Start eligibility and establish multi-year mandatory funding to grow and modernize the program.** It also targets facility upgrades, worker pay, and loan forgiveness to support program quality and staffing. - Families and children: More families would qualify by adding TANF, SSI, SNAP, WIC, and CHIP to the program’s "public assistance" definition and by raising the income cutoff to 138 percent of poverty. - Workers: Eligible Head Start and Early Head Start staff would gain a new path to cancel federal Direct Loans after three years of full-time service and a salary-increase grant program would provide $6.8 billion per year for 2027–2032 to boost pay. - Agencies and facilities: The bill would set a $36.0 billion annual mandatory appropriation for Head Start for 2027–2032 and create a $1.0 billion per year grant program for facility construction and repairs from 2027–2030, prioritizing older or hazardous buildings. *This would increase mandatory federal spending by at least $36.0 billion per year for 2027–2032, plus $6.8 billion per year for salary grants and $1.0 billion per year for facility grants through 2030.*

## Cosponsors (22)

- Rep. Lofgren, Zoe [D-CA-18] (D-CA), 2026-07-27T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Fields, Cleo [D-LA-6] (D-LA), 2026-07-27T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Mullin, Kevin [D-CA-15] (D-CA), 2026-07-27T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. García, Jesús G. "Chuy" [D-IL-4] (D-IL), 2026-07-27T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Wilson, Frederica S. [D-FL-24] (D-FL), 2026-07-27T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Matsui, Doris O. [D-CA-7] (D-CA), 2026-07-27T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Thanedar, Shri [D-MI-13] (D-MI), 2026-07-27T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Moore, Gwen [D-WI-4] (D-WI), 2026-07-27T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Budzinski, Nikki [D-IL-13] (D-IL), 2026-07-27T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Jackson, Jonathan L. [D-IL-1] (D-IL), 2026-07-27T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Grijalva, Adelita S. [D-AZ-7] (D-AZ), 2026-07-27T00:00:00.000Z
- Rescom. Hernández, Pablo Jose [D-PR-At Large] (D-PR), 2026-07-27T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Landsman, Greg [D-OH-1] (D-OH), 2026-07-27T00:00:00.000Z
- Del. Norton, Eleanor Holmes [D-DC-At Large] (D-DC), 2026-07-27T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Simon, Lateefah [D-CA-12] (D-CA), 2026-07-27T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Moulton, Seth [D-MA-6] (D-MA), 2026-07-27T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Clarke, Yvette D. [D-NY-9] (D-NY), 2026-07-27T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Krishnamoorthi, Raja [D-IL-8] (D-IL), 2026-07-27T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Deluzio, Christopher R. [D-PA-17] (D-PA), 2026-07-27T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Pocan, Mark [D-WI-2] (D-WI), 2026-08-10T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Brown, Shontel M. [D-OH-11] (D-OH), 2026-08-10T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Randall, Emily [D-WA-6] (D-WA), 2026-08-31T00:00:00.000Z

## Provisions PRIA read

- Higher pay and loan relief for staff: benefit, high. If enacted, the bill would create a grant program to supplement Head Start employee pay and authorize $6.8 billion per year for fiscal years 2027 through 2032. The Secretary must use a formula that looks at local pay gaps, cost of living, and vacancies, and grants must supplement, not supplant, pay…
- Big federal boost for Head Start: benefit, high. If enacted, the bill would authorize $36 billion per year for Head Start for fiscal years 2027 through 2032 to fund program operations. If enacted, it would also create a new infrastructure grant program with $1 billion per year for fiscal years 2027 through 2030 to build or fix Head Start faciliti…
- More Head Start help for families: benefit, medium. If enacted, you would be income-eligible for Head Start if your household income is at or below 138% of the federal poverty guideline. If enacted, the bill would also say TANF, SSI, SNAP, WIC, and CHIP count as "public assistance" for Head Start eligibility. These changes would take effect upon ena…

## Related bills

- 119-hr-9877: Health Equity and Accountability Act of 2026
- 119-hr-7973: Momnibus Act
- 119-hr-51: Washington, D.C. Admission Act
- 119-hr-7977: Energy Bills Relief Act
- 119-hr-5390: FAMILY Act
- 119-hr-15: Equality Act

## Sources
- [119-hr-9958 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/9958)

## Related
- [119-hr-9877: Health Equity and Accountability Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-9877)
- [119-hr-7973: Momnibus Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-7973)
- [119-hr-51: Washington, D.C. Admission Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-51)
- [119-hr-7977: Energy Bills Relief Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-7977)
- [119-hr-5390: FAMILY Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-5390)
- [119-hr-15: Equality Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-15)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-9958 (as of 2026-09-20).