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[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 1034 Introduced in House (IH)]

111th CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. RES. 1034

 Expressing support for designation of July 2010 as ``Braille Literacy 
                                Month''.

_______________________________________________________________________

                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 21, 2010

  Mr. Sarbanes (for himself, Mr. Alexander, Mr. Lewis of Georgia, Mr. 
 Sessions, Mr. Hare, Ms. Wasserman Schultz, Mr. Rothman of New Jersey, 
Mr. Bishop of Georgia, Mr. Platts, Mr. Ryan of Ohio, Mr. Grijalva, Mr. 
  Jackson of Illinois, Mr. Filner, Mr. Rahall, Ms. Ros-Lehtinen, Mr. 
 Boustany, and Mr. Kingston) submitted the following resolution; which 
          was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION

 
 Expressing support for designation of July 2010 as ``Braille Literacy 
                                Month''.

Whereas since its invention by Louis Braille (1809-1852), the reading and 
        writing code for the blind that bears his name has become the accepted 
        method of reading and writing for the blind the world over;
Whereas the Braille code is used to represent not only the alphabets of most 
        written languages, but is also used for mathematical and scientific 
        notation and the reproduction of musical scores;
Whereas contrary to widely believed myths, Braille is not difficult to learn, 
        nor is reading Braille slower than reading print;
Whereas while technology has improved the lives of blind people by facilitating 
        quick access to information, no technology can replace Braille literacy, 
        since literacy is the ability to read and to write and to do the two 
        interactively;
Whereas despite its efficiency, versatility, and universal acceptance by the 
        blind, the rate of Braille literacy in the United States has declined to 
        the point where only 10 percent of blind children are learning the code;
Whereas just as a literacy rate of 10 percent among this Nation's sighted 
        children would be rightly viewed as a crisis and as cause for national 
        outrage, the decline in Braille literacy is a crisis, and swift action 
        must be taken to reverse this dangerous trend;
Whereas Braille is the key to independence, productivity, and success for blind 
        people, as evidenced by the facts that while 70 percent of the blind are 
        unemployed, 85 percent of those who are employed know Braille;
Whereas the United States Congress officially recognized the importance of 
        Braille and the magnitude of the Braille literacy crisis in 2006 by 
        passing the Louis Braille Bicentennial-Braille Literacy Commemorative 
        Coin Act authorizing the striking of a United States silver dollar 
        marking the 200th anniversary of the birth of Louis Braille and 
        emphasizing the connection between learning Braille and true 
        independence and opportunity for the blind;
Whereas the National Federation of the Blind, the Nation's oldest and largest 
        organization of blind people and the leading advocate for Braille 
        literacy in the United States, has launched a national ``Braille Readers 
        are Leaders'' campaign to promote awareness of the importance of Braille 
        and to increase the availability of competent Braille instruction and of 
        Braille reading materials in this country;
Whereas the National Federation of the Blind is celebrating its 70th anniversary 
        this year; and
Whereas July 2010 would be an appropriate month to designate as ``National 
        Braille Literacy Month'': Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) congratulates the National Federation of the Blind for 
        its 70 years of outstanding service to the blind, especially 
        its fight for an equal education and access to Braille for all 
        blind children in the United States;
            (2) supports the designation of ``National Braille Literacy 
        Month'' in recognition of the 70th anniversary of the National 
        Federation of the Blind and of the importance of Braille; and
            (3) calls upon the people of the United States to recognize 
        the central role that Braille plays in the lives of blind 
        people and to support the efforts of the National Federation of 
        the Blind to promote Braille literacy.
                                 <all>
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