[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 150 (Monday, September 19, 2022)]
[House]
[Pages H7899-H7900]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
READ ACT REAUTHORIZATION ACT OF 2022
Mr. MALINOWSKI. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the
bill (H.R. 7240) to reauthorize the READ Act, as amended.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 7240
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``READ Act Reauthorization Act
of 2022''.
SEC. 2. REAUTHORIZATION.
Section 4(a) of the Reinforcing Education Accountability in
Development Act (division A of Public Law 115-56; 22 U.S.C.
2151c note) is amended by striking ``during the following
five fiscal years'' and inserting ``during the following ten
fiscal years''.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from New
Jersey (Mr. Malinowski) and the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith)
each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith).
General Leave
Mr. MALINOWSKI. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members
may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks
and include extraneous material on H.R. 7240, as amended.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from New Jersey?
There was no objection.
Mr. MALINOWSKI. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 7240, the
reauthorization of the Reinforcing Education Accountability in
Development, or the READ Act. I would first like to thank my
colleagues, Representative Bass and Representative Smith, for their
leadership in this legislation. I also want to acknowledge former
Appropriations Chairwoman Lowey for championing basic education
programs for so many years in the House. The READ Act is just one piece
of her great legacy.
The bill we are considering today reauthorizes the READ Act for
another 5 years, continuing our country's leadership in expanding
access to basic education for kids around the world. As Chairwoman
Lowey would say, education is one of the greatest force multipliers in
foreign aid. Every dollar we spend on a child's education is an
investment in their future and in a more peaceful and prosperous world.
{time} 1500
Since the READ Act was signed into law in 2017, we have made
significant progress in responding to the needs of our partner
countries to improve literacy, strengthen education systems, expand
access to safe learning, and promote education as a foundation for
sustained economic growth.
Despite this progress, the READ Act and our basic education programs
remain critical in the face of profound learning loss everywhere due to
the COVID-19 pandemic. Learning poverty has increased by a third in
low- and middle-income countries, with an estimated 70 percent of 10-
year-olds unable to understand a simple written text, up from 57
percent before the pandemic.
According to the World Bank, this generation of students now risks
losing $21 trillion in potential lifetime earnings, or the equivalent
of 17 percent of the world's GDP. Millions of kids around the world
remain out of school.
Children need a quality education, whether in Bethesda, Nairobi, or
Kabul. But investing U.S. taxpayer dollars in this cause is not just
charity; it is in our collective interest. Reauthorizing the READ Act
is thus a step toward maintaining U.S. leadership in achieving this
goal, and I urge my colleagues to support its passage through the
House.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the READ
Act reauthorization, and I yield myself the balance of my time.
Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Bass), my
good friend and colleague, for championing this effort. I am proud to
be the Republican lead on this bill. There are 50-plus cosponsors on
it. It is a bipartisan bill that seeks to encourage and strengthen our
efforts at education overseas.
Mr. Speaker, investment in basic education is an investment in the
prosperity and the security of the next generation and the communities
they live in, and that applies both at home and abroad.
Without the opportunity to attend school and learn how to read and
write, children around the world are falling behind and are more
vulnerable to extremism, violence, and exploitation.
In the Africa, Global Health, and Global Human Rights Subcommittee,
Ms. Bass and I--when I was chairman of the committee and now she as
chair--have held a number of hearings about this challenge of helping
these children so they can have good lives, care for their families,
and be as well read and as well positioned in their communities as
humanly possible.
That is why the United States is a leader in this sector. The United
States provides $950 million to partner countries to support basic
education around the world, making strategic investments in improving
educational access, quality, and teacher training.
While important gains have been made, COVID-19 had a devastating
impact on learners, both in the United States and around the world. We
all
[[Page H7900]]
know that from our work within our own constituencies. According to the
most recent report to Congress from the ILO on U.S. basic education
programs, in 2021, 24 million additional students were at risk of
dropping out of school; 22 million more girls and young women were at
risk of forced marriages, early marriages especially, as a result of
this; and 9 million additional children were at risk of child labor,
all because of the impacts of COVID.
We need to do a hurry-up offense, I think, to try to get back to
normalcy and back to a better regimen of training and teaching.
Despite these immense challenges, the U.S. Government's efforts to
support basic education programs did reach 33.4 million learners in 73
countries around the world, and I am very proud of the United States'
efforts to invest in future generations. It is a credit to our
taxpayers that they are supportive of this--and they are--as well as
this Congress on both sides of the aisle.
Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back
the balance of my time.
Mr. MALINOWSKI. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time
for the purpose of closing.
Mr. Speaker, H.R. 7240, the reauthorization of the Reinforcing
Education Accountability in Development Act, or the READ Act, comes at
a critical time.
Despite the progress we have made toward expanding access to
education around the world, COVID-19 has set us back, particularly in
low- and middle-income countries. The bill demonstrates our continuing
commitment to ensuring every child has access to safe, equitable, and
quality education, and our confidence that every dollar invested in
this cause returns dividends by way of global economic growth and
stability.
Once again, I thank the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Bass) for
introducing this bill, along with the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr.
Smith) for their leadership in advancing this critical reauthorization.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting it.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Ms. BASS. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 7240, the
READ Act Reauthorization Act of 2022. This bipartisan bill, I authored
with Africa Subcommittee Ranking Member Chris Smith, is a
straightforward reauthorization of the Reinforcing Education
Accountability in Development (READ) Act of 2017, which was signed into
law in the 115th Congress.
=========================== NOTE ===========================
September 19, 2022, on page H7900, in the first column, the
following appeared: Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my
time Mr BASS. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 7240,
the READ Act Reauthorization Act of 2022. This
The online version has been corrected to read: Mr. Speaker, I
yield back the balance of my time Ms. BASS. Mr. Speaker, I rise in
strong support of H.R. 7240, the READ Act Reauthorization Act of
2022. This
========================= END NOTE =========================
The original READ Act required a five-year Comprehensive Strategy to
equitably expand access to basic education for children around the
globe and measurably improve the quality of basic education and
learning outcomes in literacy, numeracy, and other basic skills that
prepare an individual to be an active, productive member of society and
the workforce.
The READ Act Reauthorization Act, which passed the Committee on
Foreign Affairs by voice vote, would extend the original authorization
by an additional five years. I have also worked closely with the
authors of the original READ Act, Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin and
Senator Marco Rubio, who have introduced companion legislation in the
Senate as S. 3938.
As implemented in the READ Act, it is the policy of the United States
Government to work with partner countries, other donors, multilateral
institutions, the private sector, and nongovernmental and civil society
organizations, including faith-based organizations, to promote quality
basic education through programs and activities.
Since the READ Act's implementation, we have begun to see significant
progress in building the foundational skills necessary for students to
thrive and succeed in their educational endeavors. For example, in FY
2021 alone, U.S. basic education programs reached more than 33.4
million pre-primary, primary, and secondary students in 73 countries
and more than one million additional individuals with tertiary,
vocational, and other workforce training.
The READ Act also required the President to submit a comprehensive
integrated United States strategy to promote basic education. The U.S.
Government Strategy on International Basic Education for Fiscal Years
2016-2023 emerged from this effort and was designed to promote basic
education in partner countries for all children, particularly children
from vulnerable groups, including women and children, and measurably
improve the quality of basic education and the achievement of key
learning outcomes. The strategy has been carried out by the United
States Agency for International Development (USAID), through a Senior
Coordinator of International Basic Education, since 2017.
Since the launch of the USG Strategy on International Basic Education
in 2018, agencies and departments have: Created harmonized indicators
and streamlined yearly reporting to Congress; Launched the first
international basic education website that includes information across
all U.S. agencies involved in supporting basic education worldwide; And
has increased coordination among U.S. federal agencies and departments
by establishing a process for sharing research, tools, and resources to
better leverage taxpayer dollars.
Although the READ Act has seen initial success, our partners at USAID
and other Federal agencies require time to update the current Strategy
and adapt it to new and emerging issues in global education, such as
the COVID-19 pandemic which closed schools and resulted in learning
loss around the world.
USAID has already begun consulting implementing partners and think
tanks at the working and local levels to update the Strategy, and they
plan to have a full rollout by September. This update will focus on
equitable learning outcomes and joint reporting on global learning
poverty from COVID-19 among other issues.
Mr. Speaker, this legislation has received bipartisan and bicameral
support, backing from USAID (which implements the Strategy) as well as
endorsements from 38 international education organizations. I ask my
colleagues on both sides of the aisle to join me in passing this
important reauthorization measure.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Malinowski) that the House suspend the
rules and pass the bill, H.R. 7240, as amended.
=========================== NOTE ===========================
September 19, 2022, on page H7900, in the first, second and
third columns, the following appeared: Mr. Speaker, I yield back
the balance of my time Mr. BASS. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong
support of H.R. 7240, the READ Act Reauthorization Act of 2022.
This [. . .] leagues on both sides of the aisle to join me in
passing this important reautheorization measure. The SPEAKER pro
tempore. The Question is on the motion offered by
The online version has been corrected to print the statement as
the remarks of Ms. Bass and in all Helvetica type.
========================= END NOTE =========================
The question was taken.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
Mr. ROSENDALE. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
The yeas and nays were ordered.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further
proceedings on this motion will be postponed.
____________________