[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 47 (Thursday, April 13, 2000)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E588]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    READING DEFICIT ELIMINATION ACT

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                        HON. WILLIAM F. GOODLING

                            of pennsylvania

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, April 13, 2000

  Mr. GOODLING. Mr. Speaker, today I introduced the Reading Deficit 
Elimination Act (RDEA), which is an important step in ensuring that 
every American has the ability to read. I am also pleased that Senator 
Paul Coverdell (R-GA) is introducing an identical bill today in the 
Senate.
  According to statistics from the National Assessment of Educational 
Progress (NAEP), 74 percent of third graders remain poor readers when 
they reach the ninth grade. Overall, 40 percent of fourth-graders are 
reading at the ``below basic'' level. The National Adult Literacy 
Survey, as many as 50 million adults have only minimal reading skills. 
This situation is absolutely unacceptable.
  Yesterday, we passed a resolution in my committee to make good on our 
commitment to fully fund the Individuals with Disabilities Education 
Act (IDEA). This legislation is consistent with our efforts to provide 
funding for special education. It is estimated that as many as 2 
million students who are placed in special education are there simply 
because they haven't been taught to read.
  The National Institute for Child Health and Human Development tells 
us that 90 percent to 95 percent of these students could learn to read 
and be returned to their regular classrooms if they were given 
instruction based on the finding of scientific research.
  Just this morning, the National Reading Panel released its report on 
``Teaching Children to Read,'' in both the Senate and the House. The 
message we heard confirms what we have known for years: Teaching 
children to read is essential if they are to be successful in life. We 
now have scientific research that shows us the way once again.
  Based on findings of more than 35 years of research, the Panel 
reports the following ingredients of what students need to learn if 
they are to read proficiently:
Phonemic Awareness--letters represent sounds.
Systematic phonics instruction--a necessary, but not sufficient, 
component of learning to read.
Reading Fluency-rapid decoding of words, practiced until it is 
automatic.
Spelling-accurate spelling, not the invented kind.
Writing Clearly-which leads to developing good reading comprehension 
skills.
  I believe if we are to eliminate the reading deficit, then it is 
necessary for students to be taught all of these necessary skills.
  Complimentary to the legislation being introduced today is the 
Literacy Involves Families Together (LIFT) Bill, which I am pleased is 
part of the Reading Deficit Elimination Act. In addition, Republicans 
pushed to pass the Reading Excellence Act, which was signed into law by 
the president in 1998. It is helping teachers in low-income areas and 
in schools where there is a high illiteracy rate to apply the 
scientific principles of reading instruction in the classroom.
  When President John Kennedy launched Project Apollo in 1962, and set 
a goal of sending a man to the moon by the end of the decade, all 
America cheered. That goal was met when Neil Armstrong set foot on the 
moon in July of 1969.
  Our determination to eliminate the reading deficit is no less 
challenging than going to the moon, and it is equally achievable. For 
the sake of our children, and the future of our nation, we must not let 
them down.
  I hope we can come together as a nation to cheer on the elimination 
of the reading deficit for all our children. The Reading Deficit 
Elimination Act is an important step in that direction.

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