[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 721 Introduced in House (IH)]

112th CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. RES. 721

 Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that bolstering 
literacy among African-American and Hispanic men is an urgent national 
                               priority.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             June 29, 2012

 Mr. Clarke of Michigan (for himself and Mr. Scott of South Carolina) 
submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee 
                     on Education and the Workforce

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
 Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that bolstering 
literacy among African-American and Hispanic men is an urgent national 
                               priority.

Whereas literacy is a vital skill for survival in the United States;
Whereas literacy is an essential tool for exercising active citizenship and 
        holding government officials accountable;
Whereas universal literacy is a necessity for United States competitiveness in 
        the global economy;
Whereas illiteracy is highly correlated with imprisonment, given that 56 percent 
        of United States adults in prison or jail in 2008 were deemed to have 
        very low literacy skills according to the National Commission on Adult 
        Literacy;
Whereas illiteracy can be considered a major factor giving rise to the 
        phenomenon commonly referred to as the school-to-prison-pipeline;
Whereas according to the most recent national assessment of adult literacy, 
        34,000,000 adults function at below basic literacy levels;
Whereas according to the Department of Education, 20 percent of African-
        Americans and 39 percent of Hispanics function at below basic literacy 
        levels;
Whereas only 47 percent of African-American males and 44 percent of Hispanic 
        males graduate from high school;
Whereas 45 percent of adult literacy students at community-based organizations 
        are prime working age people between the ages of 25 and 44;
Whereas according to a July 2006 report in Stanford Magazine, an increase in the 
        percentage of poverty-stricken students in a school is associated with 
        the decline in performance on literacy tests;
Whereas illiteracy is an intergenerational problem, as the children of 
        illiterate parents are less likely to receive the support they need to 
        attain reading proficiency;
Whereas Federal, State, municipal, and community-based literacy programs have 
        been able to reach a small proportion of the total illiterate 
        population; and
Whereas 74 percent of community-based organizations focused on adult literacy 
        have waiting lists: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) recognizes illiteracy as a national crisis, which 
        disproportionately affects African-American and Hispanic males;
            (2) affirms the goal of reducing adult illiteracy by 50 
        percent in these target populations and by 25 percent 
        throughout the United States in the coming decade;
            (3) encourages local, State, and Federal agencies as well 
        as the private sector to take on literacy promotion initiatives 
        in an effort to resolve this crisis;
            (4) encourages Federal agencies and private firms to 
        support community-based organization programs and the use of 
        trained volunteers to work with the target populations; and
            (5) encourages the establishment of local partnerships 
        among service providers to better meet the needs of adult 
        learners.
                                 <all>