[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 45 (Thursday, April 21, 1994)]
[Senate]
[Page S]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: April 21, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                READING ABILITY AS A NATIONAL IMPERATIVE

  Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, for centuries, an ability to read has been 
regarded as a sine qua non of civilized life, and, more recently, as 
the entry-level ticket to a higher living standard and the minimal 
prerequisite to advancement in the workplace.
  In recognition of these realities, and in recognition of a nearly 
scandalous lack of competence by so many American teenagers, both in 
high school and among school dropouts, the Senate and House of 
Delegates of the West Virginia State Legislature last month passed a 
joint resolution calling on, and inviting, the Federal Government to 
give its,

       * * * full support to the development of a national center 
     for literacy in Southern West Virginia that will direct, 
     consolidate, research and develop national programs to 
     identify the national crisis of illiteracy, its impact on the 
     future of social and national security, and formulate 
     national policies and programs to redirect a campaign to 
     reverse that impact; * * *.

  Mr. President, I commend the West Virginia State Legislature for its 
foresight and concern in adopting such a resolution.
  Moreover, I further commend Mr. Tom Colley, executive editor of the 
Bluefield Daily Telegraph, Bluefield, WV--a daily newspaper in the 
Thomson chain--for advancing such an idea. I am certain that I share 
Mr. Colley's frustration that, in this era of space exploration, 
computer advancement, and other multiple features of an emerging 
sophisticated global culture, America should continue to suffer the 
debility wrought by thousands upon thousands of adult men and women who 
do not possess sufficient literacy to qualify for more than menial 
occupations, if that.
  During the Dark Ages of Western culture, a man who could read was 
revered as nearly a magician, and was honored for his almost 
supernatural powers. Needless to say, most of our ancestors in the 
ancient past dared not even dream of attaining such an ability, and, by 
and large, most women in past cultures dared not even entertain 
fantasies of such an achievement.
  How paradoxical, then, that in our own era of almost universally 
available instruction in reading--this era of libraries stuffed with 
the classics of world literature, of newspapers priced for mass 
markets, of newsstands overflowing with paperbacks and magazines on 
subjects without census--how paradoxical, Mr. President, that, in such 
a culture as ours, thousands upon thousands of people, by apparent 
choice or deliberate neglect, opt to stunt their own intellectual 
growth by failing to take advantage of their opportunities to master 
reading and thus to condemn themselves to living in their own personal 
Dark Age.
  Literacy, as well as basic skills in arithmetic and mathematics, is 
the key to genuine freedom and the mastery of one's own destiny. 
Certainly, literacy alone cannot guarantee the good life, but few men 
or women in any culture in 1994 ever achieve more than minimal levels 
of material success without literacy.
  Mr. President, I again commend the West Virginia State Legislature 
for the adoption of its joint resolution on literacy, and I thank my 
friend, Mr. Tom Colley, for taking the initiative in heralding the need 
to take action in behalf of literacy in our country. Further, I ask 
unanimous consent that the full text of the official resolution on 
literacy be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the resolution was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

                   House Concurrent Resolution No. 27

       Whereas, An alarmingly high percentage of high school 
     seniors read at inadequate levels to carry out moderately 
     complex tasks and have inadequate writing skills; and
       Whereas, The United States Department of Education has 
     reported that a high percentage of Americans over age sixteen 
     are, as far as most workplaces are concerned, not properly 
     prepared for employment because of the lack of basic reading, 
     math, and comprehension skills; and
       Whereas, Southern West Virginia is recognized both 
     statewide and nationally as having an image of a higher level 
     of proportionate illiteracy; and
       Whereas, The public, seeking benefits from adult education 
     opportunities, is faced with a complication of literacy 
     programs that are not networked or interactive because of 
     insufficient state and federal direction; and
       Whereas, There is no clearinghouse of accurate data on 
     illiteracy nor a realistic evaluation of the social and 
     economic crises posed by growing illiteracy; therefore, be it
       Resolved by the Legislature of West Virginia: That the 
     federal government is requested to give full support to the 
     development of a national center for literacy in Southern 
     West Virginia that will direct, consolidate, research and 
     develop national programs to identify the national crisis of 
     illiteracy, its impact on the future of social and national 
     security, and formulate national policies and programs to 
     redirect a campaign to reverse that impact; and, be it
       Further Resolved, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates 
     be hereby directed to forward a copy of this resolution to 
     the West Virginia Department of Education Secretary Barbara 
     Harmon-Schamberger, West Virginia Superintendent of Schools 
     Henry Marockie, the Governor, the West Virginia delegation to 
     Congress, President Bill Clinton, and U.S. Secretary of 
     Education Richard Riley.

  Mr. President, I yield the floor.
  Mr. HOLLINGS addressed the Chair.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Chair recognizes the Senator from South 
Carolina, Mr. Hollings.

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