[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 90 (Tuesday, June 26, 2001)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1202-E1203]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         READING IS FUNDAMENTAL

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. SILVESTRE REYES

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, June 26, 2001

  Mr. REYES. Mr. Speaker, as our First Lady Laura Bush said in April of 
this year ``Early reading isn't just good medicine, it's an important 
part of a child's daily activities. Children benefit greatly from 
reading activities starting at a very young age.'' Mr. Speaker, our 
First Lady is absolutely right!
  Unfortunately, in the 2002 budget, President Bush cut all federal 
funding for a 35-year-old nationwide reading program. The program which 
is know as Reading is Fundamental (RIF) is supported through the U.S. 
Department of Education's Inexpensive Book Distribution Program (IBDP). 
RIF provides free, new books and family literacy services to 18,000 
school and community sites with the vital help of more than 310,000 
local volunteers.
  RIF has a proven record and should not be destroyed or altered. For 
35 years, it has given free paperback books to poor children in all 50 
states, the District of Columbia, and U.S. offshore territories. If the 
federal government gives states reading grants, as President Bush 
wants, there is no guarantee that this kind of program, which is badly 
needed, will continue.
  My district of El Paso, Texas is an impoverished area of our country. 
Programs like Reading is Fundamental may not make much of a difference 
in more affluent areas, but they certainly do in El Paso. For some 
kids, a free book is the only access to reading that they have.
  RIF programs operate in schools, libraries, community centers, child-
care centers, Head Start and Even Start centers, hospitals, migrant 
worker camps, homeless shelters, and detention centers. Today, thanks 
to public-private partnerships, RIF is the nation's largest child and 
family literacy organization. RIF has placed more than 200 million 
books in the hands and homes of America's children.
  Now, President Bush has proposed a five-year plan to improve young 
children's reading ability by cutting all funding for IBDP and 
consolidating the funding into state-level reading grants. This is 
simply not the answer. The answer is RIF.
  I respectfully request that the Administration restore the RIF 
program in the 2002 budget. The RIF program is an example of a program 
that is working and making a real difference in the lives of countless 
children across the country. It would be a travesty to destroy it.

[[Page E1203]]



                          ____________________