[United States Statutes at Large, Volume 123, 111th Congress, 1st Session]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

 
PROCLAMATION 8349--FEB. 27, 2009

Proclamation 8349 of February 27, 2009
Read Across America Day, 2009
By the President of the United States of America
A Proclamation

Read Across America Day provides an opportunity to support efforts to
excite children about reading and to educate families about the
importance of literacy. I encourage families and all citizens to
celebrate the joy and emphasize the importance of reading.
Every American child deserves the opportunity to solve the puzzles of
mystery novels, to discover the beauty of poetry, to imagine the
fantastical worlds of science fiction, and to explore their own world
through books about nature and foreign lands. Reading provides unending
enjoyment and helps unlock a child's creative potential. We must make
literacy the birthright of every American.
Every child also deserves the tools they will need for success. Students
must read well to meet high standards in the classroom. Understanding
science, mathematics, and the arts requires the ability to read
proficiently. Beyond the schoolyard, our youth must be prepared to meet
the demands of the global economy. New technologies and steep
competition abroad require our Nation to focus on children's reading
skills as a building block for future personal achievements.
Families must play an active role in this effort. On Read Across America
Day, parents are encouraged to read to their children for at least 30
minutes. I also encourage parents to recognize the critical importance
of literacy for their children's future and to develop habits at home
that encourage reading, such as reading to their children every night or
providing incentives for them to read on their own.

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123 STAT. 3616

On Read Across America Day, we partner with the National Education
Association and mark the birthday of Theodor Geisel, whose beloved Dr.
Seuss books still inspire children throughout the world to read.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of
America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and
laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim March 2, 2009, 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 twenty-seventh day
of February, in the year of our Lord two thousand nine, and of the
Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-
third.
BARACK OBAMA