[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 107 (Thursday, July 16, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1814]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


       INTRODUCTION OF THE ACCESS TO BOOKS FOR CHILDREN (ABC) ACT

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                        HON. CAROLYN B. MALONEY

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, July 16, 2009

  Mrs. MALONEY. Madam Speaker, today, I am pleased to reintroduce the 
Access to Books for Children Act (ABC Act), which strives to make 
buying books for kids as easy as A-B-C. The bill would provide vouchers 
for purchasing educational books to low-income mothers of infants and 
children participating in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program 
for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC).
  The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends daily reading to a 
child beginning when the child is just 6 months old. Children who are 
exposed to books and reading before they start school are much more 
likely to graduate from high school than those who are not. The ABC Act 
will put books in the homes of children who may not otherwise have 
them, in order to help those children develop the reading skills to set 
them on the path to success.

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