[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 35, Number 32 (Monday, August 16, 1999)]
[Page 1629]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Statement on Funding for Reading Programs

August 13, 1999

    Today I am pleased to announce that the Department of Education is 
awarding $231 million in grants to help States, school districts, and 
communities help all of our children learn to read well. Reading is the 
building block for all learning. Nearly 40 percent of America's fourth 
graders, however, cannot read on their own. That is why my 
administration is working to ensure that every child can read 
independently by the end of the third grade--from working to reduce 
class size in the early grades to launching our American Reads program. 
This is an investment in our children and our future. Unfortunately, the 
Republican tax plan could force us to slash funding for this important 
initiative by as much as half in the years to come. Every one of us 
should do our part to help our children learn to read--and I call on 
Congress to put politics aside and put our children's future first.