California's Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed $256 million in child care money for low-income families, leaving tens of thousands of families transitioning off of public assistance without good child care options starting in November.

California's state Assembly Speaker, John A. Pérez, has offered $6 million from the Assembly's operating budget, is looking for additional funds and plans to get the funding restored first thing next year.

"I think the worst thing we could do would be to ask people living on the margin who need this child care to wait until January to figure out how to take care of their families,'' Pérez said.

In total, the governor's vetoes took $1 billion away from California's most vulnerable citizens. If replacement funding isn't found, many of these cuts are expected to throw many families into poverty and increase applications for public assistance.

Ask Congress to support early learning in your state's next budget.