Barbara Mikulski: “I join my colleagues Senators Kennedy and Murray in cosponsoring this important new initiative. The goal of this…”

“I join my colleagues Senators Kennedy and Murray in cosponsoring this important new initiative. The goal of this legislation is to launch a campaign to ensure that every child in our Nation can read independently by the end of the third grade. I believe that this is a worthwhile goal, which will have a wide-ranging impact on our Nation. We need to help our young children learn to read. It's the responsibility not only of parents but of schools, communities, civic groups, libraries, and business leaders. Some 40 percent of all children are now reading below the accepted level on national reading assessments. This is a national crisis. Tens of thousands of students cannot read at the basic level. If students can't read well by the third grade, their chances for later success fall dramatically. These same students are likely to drop out of school; they will have problems with delinquency; and they will have fewer job options. I believe that the America Reads initiative will go a long way in providing much needed resources to parents, schools, and State and local communities to help our children learn to read.”