[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 29 (Tuesday, March 9, 2004)]
[House]
[Pages H892-H893]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




EXPRESSING SENSE OF CONGRESS THAT KIDS LOVE A MYSTERY IS A PROGRAM THAT 
               PROMOTES LITERACY AND SHOULD BE ENCOURAGED

  Mr. GINGREY. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to 
the concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 373) expressing the sense of 
Congress that Kids Love a Mystery is a program that promotes literacy 
and should be encouraged.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                            H. Con. Res. 373

       Whereas knowledge, wisdom, and children are the greatest 
     assets of a democracy;
       Whereas books enable one generation to pass on its 
     knowledge and wisdom to the next;
       Whereas learning to read is one of the greatest privileges 
     the Nation extends to its children;
       Whereas children most often choose mysteries as their 
     favorite books;
       Whereas the Mystery Writers of America sponsors Kids Love a 
     Mystery, an outreach program designed to bring mystery 
     writers and children together to encourage literacy and the 
     love of reading; and
       Whereas the Mystery Writers of America recognizes the value 
     in celebrating the importance of reading for children: Now, 
     therefore, be it
       Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate 
     concurring), That it is the sense of Congress that--
       (1) Kids Love a Mystery is a program that helps promote 
     literacy and reading and should be supported and encouraged; 
     and
       (2) the President should issue a proclamation encouraging 
     the people of the United States and interested groups to 
     promote Kids Love a Mystery with appropriate programs and 
     activities.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Georgia (Mr. Gingrey) and the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Woolsey) 
each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Gingrey).


                             General Leave

  Mr. GINGREY. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their 
remarks on H. Con. Res. 373.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Georgia?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. GINGREY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of House Concurrent Resolution 373, 
offered by the gentleman from California (Mr. George Miller). The 
concurrent resolution would establish Kids Love a Mystery Month and 
recognize the importance of encouraging children to read books, and 
especially mystery stories.
  I am pleased that First Lady Laura Bush has agreed to serve as 
honorary chair of Mystery Writers of America's Kids Love a Mystery 
Program. Mrs. Bush expressed the appropriate sentiment for us all when 
she said, ``Our love of reading is what makes us tuck a paperback under 
our arm on the way

[[Page H893]]

to work; its bedside tables that include piles of books that we read 
before we fall asleep, or continue reading when we cannot sleep. Oh, 
the refuge we find in books and reading, and how mystery, history and 
intrigue draw us back again and again.''
  Mr. Speaker, I would dare say there is not one of us who has not had 
our nose buried in a ``whodunit'' book, letting our imagination soar in 
wonderment about what the ending will be. Whether it is Sherlock Holmes 
or Dick Tracy or Harry Potter, or my childhood favorite, the Hardy Boys 
mysteries, our support for reading and writing mystery books is a 
worthy cause. Exciting mystery writers over the years have provided 
untold hours of enjoyment to child and adult alike. Agatha Christie, 
Ellery Queen, Alfred Hitchcock, Phyllis Whitney, Mickey Spillane, Mary 
Higgins Clark, and J.K. Rowling have enriched our lives and stimulated 
our imaginations.
  In the Kids Love a Mystery reading program, participants can earn an 
Eddie Award Certificate by registering with a local sponsor and reading 
at least one mystery book. Or participants may write their own mystery 
story and have a panel selected by an author judge the entry.
  I commend the Mystery Writers of America for recognizing the value 
and importance of reading and for observing October each year as Kids 
Love a Mystery Month.
  Mr. Speaker, it is fitting and appropriate then for Congress to 
celebrate the reading for children and agree to this concurrent 
resolution establishing Kids Love a Mystery Month. I urge my colleagues 
to join me in supporting it.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Ms. WOOLSEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H. Con. Res. 373, the 
resolution of the gentleman from California (Mr. George Miller) which 
supports and promotes Kids Love a Mystery Program throughout the United 
States.
  Under the sponsorship of the Mystery Writers of America organization, 
this program brings together authors who write for juvenile and young 
adult readers with children, parents, teachers, and librarians in a 
nationwide series of events each October to celebrate mystery writing.
  This year, First Lady Laura Bush will serve as the honorary chair of 
the Kids Love a Mystery program. H. Con. Res. 373 expresses the sense 
of Congress that Kids Love a Mystery is a good program that promotes 
literacy through the creative process and should be encouraged. It 
underscores our belief that learning to read is the greatest gift one 
generation can bestow on the next.
  With this resolution, we encourage the President to issue a 
proclamation in support of the Kids Love a Mystery Program. This annual 
program has proven to be a valuable method to encourage literacy, 
foster deductive reasoning, and enhance critical-thinking skills for 
our young readers. The Kids Love a Mystery Program was developed by the 
Mystery Writers of America, a nonprofit entity that serves as the 
premier organization for mystery writers and other professionals in the 
mystery field. Through its chapters in all 50 States, the organization 
has utilized the month of October each year to orchestrate the Kids 
Love a Mystery Program with particular emphasis on fostering both 
reading and writing initiatives.
  Since its inception in 1998, the Kids Love a Mystery Program has 
involved more than 15,000 young readers in 31 States plus the District 
of Columbia. Two of the most popular initiatives within the Kids Love a 
Mystery Program are the presentation of Eddie Awards, certificates that 
are given to every child who registers with a local participating 
library, school, bookstore or even on the Internet and reads at least 
one mystery book in the month of October.
  In addition, young readers are encouraged to write their own mystery 
stories in October to earn an Eddie Award.
  Mr. Speaker, we know that reading is the basis for all learning, and 
mystery stories have proven to be particularly attractive to young 
readers. I urge my colleagues to pass this resolution to encourage more 
young people to read.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. GINGREY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  In closing, let me say that nothing is more important to the 
education of our children than the ability to read and read well. We 
have often heard it said that we learn to read so we can read to learn. 
The importance of that needs to be accomplished, indeed, as in the 
context of No Child Left Behind by the third grade. We will continue to 
have a strong emphasis on reading programs like this resolution in 
regard to Kids Love a Mystery. I would just encourage all of my 
colleagues on both sides of the aisle, and it is nice to have an 
opportunity to have a good bipartisan piece of legislation that we can 
all support. We are all behind trying to make sure that all our 
children can read and read well.
  Mr. Speaker, I encourage unanimous support for House Concurrent 
Resolution 373.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Terry). The question is on the motion 
offered by the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Gingrey) that the House 
suspend the rules and agree to the concurrent resolution, H. Con. Res. 
373.
  The question was taken.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds of 
those present have voted in the affirmative.
  Mr. GINGREY. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX and the 
Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be 
postponed.

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