8/8/2019 Protect and Preserve Early Childhood Reading
Programs!
1/2
Dear WNBA-NYC Members and Book Community Members,
Our recent past President, Valerie Tomaselli, has seen a notice
in Publishers Weeklyregardinga vote in U.S. Senate on an amendment
that would ban ALL domestic earmarks inthe 2011,2012, and 2013
budget cycles. This vote is scheduled for Monday, November
29,2010.
Here is the announcement from PW:
A rider attached by Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK) to the FDA Food
SafetyModernization Act (S. 510), which proposes banning earmarks
for the next threeyears, could have a devastating effect on
educational programs like Reach Out
and Read, Reading Is Fundamental, and Teach for America, which
would lose theirfederal funding. The vote on the ban is scheduled
to take place on the Mondayafter Thanksgiving.The passage of this
amendment would be catastrophic for Reach Out and Readand 12 other
high quality, evidence-based programs that benefit millions
ofchildren and families in our country, says Reach Out and Read CEO
Earl MartinPhalen. The best way to protect Americas economic
security for the future is toinvest in early education, and vote
against this shortsighted amendment.
This year, for example, Reach Out and Read, which promotes early
literacy andschool readiness by giving new books to children and
advice to parents about theimportance of reading aloud at regular
pediatric checkups, was awarded $6 million
in federal funding. The organization leveraged it to raise
another $21 million innon-federal funding to serve 4 million
children and families nationwide.Reach Out and Read is working with
the 12 other nonprofit educationorganizations that would be
affected by the earmark banCenter for CivicEducation, Close Up
foundation, Communities In Schools, cooperative EducationExchange
Program, National Board for Professional Teaching Standards,
NationalHistory Day, National Writing project, New Leaders for New
Schools, Project GRAD,Reading Is Fundamental, Teach for America,
and VSAto try to stop thelegislation.
For more information, please visit the Reach Out and Read
website.
In this situation, the ban of earmarks is being used as blunt
instrumentpolitically. It will have a devastating effect for Reach
Out and Read, Perri Klasss (she isa WNBA Award winner)
organization. ROR does tremendous and effective work
encouragingreading in early childhood.
The potential ban also affects funding for The Center for Civic
Education, which is a long-standing and well-respected organization
in the fields of civics and education. Affectedgroups include Teach
for America, Reading is Fundamental among many others.Reach Out and
Read and other affected groups are trying to organize
support.Please take action by clicking here to view the homepage
these organizations havecollectively organized.
http://www.reachoutandread.org/supporters/advocate/takeaction.aspxhttp://www.reachoutandread.org/http://new.civiced.org/abouthttp://www.teachforamerica.org/http://www.rif.org/us/get-involved/advocate.htmhttp://www.reachoutandread.org/supporters/advocate/takeaction.aspxhttp://www.wnba-nyc.org/http://www.reachoutandread.org/supporters/advocate/takeaction.aspxhttp://www.reachoutandread.org/http://new.civiced.org/abouthttp://www.teachforamerica.org/http://www.rif.org/us/get-involved/advocate.htmhttp://www.reachoutandread.org/supporters/advocate/takeaction.aspx
