[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 540 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 540

           Recognizing the 50th anniversary of Sesame Street.


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                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            August 16, 2019

     Mrs. Lowey (for herself and Mr. Cole) submitted the following 
 resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
           Recognizing the 50th anniversary of Sesame Street.

Whereas Sesame Street will celebrate its 50th year of continuous broadcast on 
        stations of the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) in the United States 
        on November 10, 2019;
Whereas, as the longest running program on PBS, Sesame Street has continued to 
        bring critical early learning to generations through the beloved and 
        iconic Muppets of Sesame Street, including Big Bird, Cookie Monster, 
        Bert and Ernie, and Elmo;
Whereas Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit educational organization that set a new 
        standard with Sesame Street, has created an entire genre of educational 
        media to help children around the world grow smarter, stronger, and 
        kinder;
Whereas Sesame Street remains the ``longest street in the world'', reaching more 
        than 160 million children in more than 150 countries;
Whereas international programming includes local adaptations of Sesame Street 
        customized to the unique needs and challenges of children in different 
        languages and cultures in such countries as South Africa, Afghanistan, 
        Mexico, and Bangladesh, among others;
Whereas Sesame Street remains the most researched children's educational 
        television program in history, with more than 1,000 independent studies 
        documenting its efficacy;
Whereas longitudinal studies have shown that preschoolers who frequently watched 
        Sesame Street scored higher on school readiness tests than less-frequent 
        or nonviewers;
Whereas frequent preschool viewing of Sesame Street is associated with higher 
        high school grade point averages;
Whereas Sesame Workshop deploys bold educational programs that open doors to 
        opportunity for vulnerable children and their communities through its 
        social impact work;
Whereas Sesame Street characters and content have been used to help children of 
        military families cope with the challenges of deployment, relocation, 
        injury, and grief;
Whereas Sesame Street's autism initiative promotes acceptance and understanding 
        and helps children and families face everyday challenges, while fighting 
        the stigma often associated with autism;
Whereas Sesame Workshop's groundbreaking new program, Sesame Street in 
        Communities, is helping children in communities across the United States 
        who are experiencing trauma such as family homelessness, parental 
        substance abuse and addiction, or food insecurity;
Whereas Sesame Workshop has, through ``Muppet Diplomacy'', brought international 
        attention to advance the importance of girls' education and gender 
        equity in Afghanistan, India, and countries in the Gulf Region, mutual 
        respect and inclusivity in Northern Ireland and between the Israelis and 
        Palestinians, and destigmatization of HIV/AIDS in South Africa;
Whereas Sesame Workshop is working to help transform the lives of millions of 
        the world's most vulnerable children who have been displaced by the 
        enduring, tragic conflict in Syria and providing for the educational 
        needs of refugee populations in Bangladesh and throughout the Middle 
        East;
Whereas Sesame Workshop has trained hundreds of media professionals to create 
        educational and entertaining puppet-based media for children, fostering 
        new talent in the areas of production, puppeteering, and writing, among 
        others;
Whereas, for more than 5 decades, Sesame Workshop has partnered with 
        foundations, corporations, and communities of all sizes to extend the 
        reach of its programs and to support meaningful social impact work;
Whereas Sesame Workshop has received a record-setting 192 Emmy awards to date 
        and numerous other accolades, notably as the most impactful program in 
        the history of television for its innovative work in using the power of 
        media to help children learn and grow, preparing them for success in 
        school and life; and
Whereas Sesame Workshop has been a unique, trusted, and educational force for 
        children for 50 years and deserves recognition for this historic 
        milestone and the support of the House of Representatives: Now, 
        therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) recognizes the 50th anniversary of the television 
        program Sesame Street;
            (2) recognizes the enduring contributions of Sesame 
        Workshop to the national goal of preparing every child to be 
        ready for school;
            (3) congratulates Sesame Workshop for its exemplary track 
        record in producing award-winning programming that has 
        transformed the lives of millions of children and families in 
        the United States and globally; and
            (4) expresses its admiration and support for Sesame 
        Workshop as it continues its path-breaking work with 
        educational media and social impact content to help every child 
        across the globe grow up smarter, stronger, and kinder.
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