[Congressional Bills 103th Congress] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office] [H.J. Res. 413 Introduced in House (IH)] 103d CONGRESS 2d Session H. J. RES. 413 Designating November 1, 1994, as ``National Family Literacy Day''. _______________________________________________________________________ IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES September 22, 1994 Mr. Goodling (for himself and Mr. Sawyer) introduced the following joint resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Post Office and Civil Service _______________________________________________________________________ JOINT RESOLUTION Designating November 1, 1994, as ``National Family Literacy Day''. Whereas millions of American families are trapped in a cycle of poverty, dependency, and undereducation; Whereas research shows that the most important factor in determining the life chances of a child is the level of educational attainment of the parents of the child; Whereas a child whose parents lack a high school diploma are more than twice as likely to live in poverty than a child whose parents are high school graduates; Whereas the level of education of a parent affects the level of literacy of the children of the parent, even when the children become adults; Whereas family literacy programs can increase parent involvement in the education of children of the parent; Whereas a child in a family literacy program demonstrates greater gains than a child in a child-focused program; Whereas an adult participating in a family literacy program is more likely to remain in the program than an adult participating in an adult-focused program; Whereas family literacy programs, such as Even Start and Head Start, provide a promising approach to improving the literacy skills of families; and Whereas, if literacy is to be increased among the next generation of families, it is necessary to use family literacy programs to increase the educational skills of parents and children of the parents: Now, therefore, be it Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That November 1, 1994, is designated as ``National Family Literacy Day''. The President is authorized and requested to issue a proclamation calling on the people of the United States to observe this day with appropriate ceremonies and activities. <all>