[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 43 (Friday, March 4, 2022)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 12389-12390]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-04776]


 
 
                         Presidential Documents 
 
 

  Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 43 / Friday, March 4, 2022 / 
Presidential Documents  

 ___________________________________________________________________

 Title 3--
 The President

[[Page 12389]]

                Proclamation 10346 of March 1, 2022

                
Read Across America Day, 2022

                By the President of the United States of America

                A Proclamation

                Reading ignites imagination, insight, and inspiration. 
                It nourishes a child's creativity and curiosity, and 
                inspires a passion for lifelong learning. Books can 
                challenge and inspire. They can teach important 
                lessons, reveal new worlds, and enrich our 
                understanding of our own--of different people, 
                perspectives, and cultures. On Read Across America Day, 
                we celebrate the joy of learning and give thanks to the 
                parents, caregivers, educators, librarians, authors, 
                and community members who invest in our Nation's 
                children.

                For many young Americans, the path to literacy begins 
                with treasured and timeless traditions: being read to 
                at bedtime, gathering in classrooms for story time, and 
                attending events at local libraries with family and 
                friends. Children's classics such as Dr. Seuss' ``Green 
                Eggs and Ham'' and ``Oh, the Places You'll Go!'' have 
                inspired a passion for reading and endless creativity 
                that spans generations. Today's stories and adventures 
                are as diverse as the world in which we live, and by 
                reading them, we come to more fully understand the 
                vibrant diversity of our Nation--and the world. This is 
                especially important as young people learn and grow and 
                engage with their own sense of identity. Books build 
                each child's sense of belonging and can help inculcate 
                respect and empathy for others.

                The First Lady, a lifelong educator, has said, 
                ``reading is the foundation of all education. It 
                affects every aspect of our society.'' This has never 
                been truer than today. It is one of the many reasons 
                why my Administration is committed to advancing 
                educational excellence for every child and literacy for 
                every American. It is why I have proposed making 2 
                years of high-quality preschool available to every 
                child in America. It is one of the reasons why safely 
                reopening schools for in-person instruction was a 
                priority for my Administration from day one--so that 
                children could get back to learning in the classroom 
                with their peers--and why the American Rescue Plan 
                included $122 billion to keep schools open safely and 
                help address the learning loss and mental health 
                impacts of missing school. School districts across the 
                country are already using these funds to support 
                literacy efforts by updating curricula and hiring 
                specialists.

                My Administration is also committed to supporting 
                volunteer and literacy programs that help young people 
                and adults master reading. This work is crucial, as 
                half of adults in the United States are unable to read 
                a book written for the eighth-grade level, and nearly a 
                quarter of American adults have not read a book over 
                the last year.

                I often say that children are the kite strings that 
                keep our National ambitions aloft. On Read Across 
                America Day, we dedicate ourselves to helping each new 
                generation of readers and thinkers become the leaders 
                who will write a more hopeful chapter in the American 
                narrative and in the story of our shared world. As the 
                great American writer Toni Morrison reminds us: ``If 
                you find a book you really want to read but it hasn't 
                been written yet, then you must write it.''

                NOW, THEREFORE, I, JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR., President of 
                the United States of America, by virtue of the 
                authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws 
                of the United States, do hereby proclaim March 2, 2022,

[[Page 12390]]

                as Read Across America Day. I call upon children, 
                families, educators, librarians, public officials, and 
                all the people of the United States to observe this day 
                with appropriate programs, ceremonies, and activities.

                IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this 
                first day of March, in the year of our Lord two 
                thousand twenty-two, and of the Independence of the 
                United States of America the two hundred and forty-
                sixth.
                
                
                    (Presidential Sig.)

[FR Doc. 2022-04776
Filed 3-3-22; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3395-F2-P