Funding pre-kindergarten education is the best investment we can make, not only for the future of the children themselves but for our future as a nation. The sad truth is that our rich United States is way behind in our investment in children — and this must change.

Economists never tire of telling us that the most important capital for the post-industrial knowledge/information/service economy is "high-quality human capital" and that to be competitive we must do a better job of human capacity development.

We know from both psychology and neuroscience that whether human capacities develop, or do not develop, largely depends on the quality of care and education little children receive.

Congress must support pre-k education — and it's up to every one of us to let our representatives know we expect them to do this.