[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 8]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 11447]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                      INTRODUCTION OF THE ABC ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. CAROLYN B. MALONEY

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, June 4, 2008

  Mrs. MALONEY of New York. Madam Speaker, today I am pleased to re-
introduce the Access to Books for Children, ABC, Act, which would amend 
the Child Nutrition Act of 1996 to provide vouchers to mothers for the 
purchase of educational books for 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 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 make it easier for children in the WIC program to develop literacy 
skills by placing books in the hands of children who may not otherwise 
have their own books in the home. With the ABC Act, we have an 
opportunity to provide nourishment for both the body and the mind to 
children who need it most.

                          ____________________