I 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1623 

To improve graduation rates by authorizing the Secretary of Education to 

make grants to improve adolescent literacy, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 21, 2007 

Mr. HINOJOSA (for himself, Mrs. DAVIS of California, Mr. EMANUEL, Mr. EDWARDS, Ms. BERKLEY, Mr. CLEAVER, Mr. BERMAN, Mr. HONDA, Mr. 

ETHERIDGE, Mr. RUSH, Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas, Mr. GUTIERREZ, 

Mr. ABERCROMBIE, Mr. FILNER, Mr. TOWNS, Mr. SALAZAR, Ms. 

HIRONO, Mr. CONYERS, Mr. RANGEL, Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas, Ms. 

NORTON, Mr. JEFFERSON, Mr. RODRIGUEZ, Mr. FATTAH, Mr. JOHNSON

of Georgia, and Mr. NEAL of Massachusetts) introduced the following 

bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor 

A BILL 

To improve graduation rates by authorizing the Secretary 

of Education to make grants to improve adolescent literacy, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Graduation for All 

5 Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 The Congress finds as follows: 


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1 (1) Failure to earn a high school diploma has 

2 serious economic and social consequences for individ3 uals and the Nation. 

4 (2) Recent studies show that less than 75 per5 cent of all eighth graders graduate from high school 

6 in 5 years, and in urban schools the rate falls below 

7 50 percent. 

8 (3) 40 percent of students attending high-mi9 nority-enrollment secondary schools enroll in reme10 dial coursework when entering higher education in 

11 an effort to gain the skills their secondary education 

12 failed to provide. 

13 (4) Students who receive concentrated, focused 

14 support in literacy graduate from high school and 

15 attend college in far greater numbers. 

16 (5) On the 2002 National Assessment of Edu17 cational Progress, one in four students in the eighth 

18 grade scored below basic in reading. 

19 (6) Improving the literacy skills of adolescents 

20 is a key factor in improving high school graduation 

21 rates. 

22 TITLE I—IMPROVING 

23 ADOLESCENT LITERACY 

24 SEC. 101. PURPOSES. 

25 The purposes of this title are— 


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1 (1) to provide assistance to State educational 

2 agencies and local educational agencies in estab3 lishing effective research-based reading programs for 

4 students attending secondary schools (including mid5 dle schools and high schools, as defined by the local 

6 education agency) including economically disadvan7 taged students, students from major racial and eth8 nic groups, students with disabilities, students with 

9 limited English proficiency, migrant children, and 

10 homeless children; 

11 (2) to provide adequate resources to schools to 

12 hire, and to provide in-service training for, at least 

13 one literacy coach per 600 students or 20 teachers, 

14 whichever requires the greater number of literacy 

15 coaches, who can assist all teachers to incorporate 

16 research-based reading and writing instruction or 

17 English as a second language instruction into their 

18 teaching of mathematics, science, history, civics, ge19 ography, literature, language arts, and other core 

20 academic subjects; 

21 (3) to provide assistance to State educational 

22 agencies and local educational agencies in strength23 ening reading and writing instruction and providing 

24 diagnostic reading assessments and comprehensive 

25 research-based programs and instructional materials 


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1 that will improve overall reading and writing per2 formance among students attending secondary 

3 schools; and 

4 (4) to provide assistance to State educational 

5 agencies and local educational agencies to develop 

6 and implement individual graduation plans for stu7 dents who are most at risk of not graduating from 

8 high school so that such students graduate with a 

9 high school diploma before reaching 21 years of age 

10 or the maximum age for high school attendance in 

11 accordance with State law. 

12 SEC. 102. PROGRAM AUTHORIZED. 

13 The Secretary is authorized to establish a program, 

14 in accordance with the requirements of this title, that will 

15 provide funds to State educational agencies and local edu16 cational agencies to establish reading and writing pro17 grams to improve overall reading and writing performance 

18 among students attending secondary schools (including 

19 middle and high schools, as defined by the local education 

20 agency). 

21 SEC. 103. GRANTS TO STATES. 

22 (a) ALLOCATION TO STATES.—The Secretary shall 

23 allocate funds to States— 

24 (1) to establish a reading and writing partner25 ship to increase the literacy skills for all students, 


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1 including strategies for economically disadvantaged 

2 students, students from major racial and ethnic 

3 groups, students with disabilities, students with lim4 ited English proficiency, migrant children, and 

5 homeless children; 

6 (2) to coordinate applications for subgrants 

7 under this title; and 

8 (3) to oversee and evaluate the State’s activities 

9 under this title. 

10 (b) LENGTH OF GRANT.—Grants made to States 

11 under this title shall be in effect for a period of 6 years. 

12 (c) APPLICATIONS.—In order to receive a grant 

13 under this title, a State shall submit to the Secretary an 

14 application in a form established by the Secretary, which 

15 satisfies the following conditions: 

16 (1) The application shall not be consolidated 

17 with an application made under the Elementary and 

18 Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6301 

19 et seq.). 

20 (2) The application shall include assurances 

21 that the State— 

22 (A) has established a reading and writing 

23 partnership that— 

24 (i) coordinated the application; and 


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1 (ii) will assist in administering the 

2 program; and 

3 (B) will participate, if requested, in the ex4 ternal national evaluation of the program. 

5 (3) The application shall include a program 

6 plan that contains a description of the following: 

7 (A) How the State will assist local edu8 cational agencies in implementing grants, in9 cluding providing ongoing professional develop10 ment for literacy coaches, teachers, paraprofes11 sionals, and administrators. 

12 (B) How the State will help local edu13 cational agencies identify screening, diagnostic, 

14 and classroom-based instructional reading and 

15 writing assessments. 

16 (C) How the State will help local edu17 cational agencies identify scientifically based 

18 materials and programs. 

19 (D) How the State will help local edu20 cational agencies identify materials, programs, 

21 and assessments for economically disadvantaged 

22 students, students from major racial and ethnic 

23 groups, students with disabilities, students with 

24 limited English proficiency, migrant children, 

25 and homeless children. 


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1 (E) How the State will ensure that profes2 sional development is based on scientifically 

3 based reading research, will effectively improve 

4 instructional practices for reading and writing, 

5 and is coordinated with professional develop6 ment activities funded through other programs. 

7 (F) How funded activities will help teach8 ers and other instructional staff to implement 

9 scientifically based components of reading in10 struction. 

11 (G) The subgrant process, including how 

12 the State will ensure that eligible local edu13 cational agencies receiving subgrants will use 

14 practices based on scientifically based reading 

15 research. 

16 (H) How the State will build on, and pro17 mote coordination among, reading and writing 

18 programs in the State to increase overall effec19 tiveness in reading and writing instruction, in20 cluding effectiveness among economically dis21 advantaged students, students from major ra22 cial and ethnic groups, students with disabil23 ities, students with limited English proficiency, 

24 migrant children, and homeless children. 


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1 (I) How the State will assist local edu2 cational agencies receiving subgrants under this 

3 title in providing one-on-one counseling to de4 velop graduation plans for students at risk of 

5 not graduating on time. 

6 (J) How the State will assess and evaluate 

7 the effectiveness of eligible local educational 

8 agency activities on a regular basis. 

9 (d) USE OF FUNDS.— 

10 (1) SUBGRANTS.—Each State shall allocate 80 

11 percent of the funds the State receives under this 

12 title to local educational agencies, utilizing a com13 petitive priority based upon the graduation rate for 

14 students attending middle schools and high schools. 

15 (2) STATE-LEVEL ACTIVITIES.— 

16 (A) IN GENERAL.—Each State educational 

17 agency shall use 20 percent of the grant funds 

18 the State educational agency receives under this 

19 title— 

20 (i) to carry out State-level activities 

21 described in subsection (c); 

22 (ii) to provide technical support to 

23 local educational agencies and high-quality 

24 professional development to teachers and 

25 literacy coaches; 


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1 (iii) to provide grants to secondary 

2 schools that have low graduation rates but 

3 are not in a local education agency with 

4 low graduation rates; and 

5 (iv) for administrative costs. 

6 (B) LIMITATION.—Not more than 10 per7 cent of the grant funds distributed to a State 

8 under this title for any fiscal year may be used 

9 for planning, administration, and reporting. 

10 (e) NOTICE TO LOCAL EDUCATION AGENCIES.— 

11 Each State receiving a grant under this title shall provide 

12 notice to all eligible local educational agencies about the 

13 availability of subgrants under this title. 

14 (f) REVIEW OF APPLICATIONS.—State applications 

15 shall be reviewed by the Secretary in the order in which 

16 they are received. 

17 SEC. 104. SUBGRANTS TO LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCIES. 

18 (a) ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENT.—To be eligible to 

19 receive a subgrant under this title, a local educational 

20 agency shall be among the local educational agencies in 

21 the State with the lowest graduation rates for public sec22 ondary school students (as defined in section 

23 1111(b)(2)(C)(vi) of the Elementary and Secondary Edu24 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6311(b)(2)(C)(vi))). 

25 (b) APPLICATIONS.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Local educational agencies 

2 shall submit applications to the State in the form 

3 and according to the schedule established by the 

4 State. 

5 (2) CONTENTS.—In addition to any other infor6 mation required by the State, applications for sub7 grants under this title shall demonstrate how the 

8 local educational agency will carry out the following 

9 required activities: 

10 (A) Reading assessments. 

11 (B) Reading programs. 

12 (C) Reading and writing programs for eco13 nomically disadvantaged students, students 

14 from major racial and ethnic groups, students 

15 with disabilities, students with limited English 

16 proficiency, migrant children, and homeless 

17 children. 

18 (D) One-on-one counseling to develop grad19 uation plans for students at risk of not grad20 uating on time. 

21 (E) Selection and implementation of in22 structional materials based on scientifically 

23 based reading research. 

24 (F) Professional development, including in25 struction on how to identify and work with ecoVerDate Aug 31 2005 07:33 Mar 24, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1623.IH H1623

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1 nomically disadvantaged students, students 

2 from major racial and ethnic groups, students 

3 with disabilities, students with limited English 

4 proficiency, migrant children, and homeless 

5 children. 

6 (G) Evaluation strategies. 

7 (H) Reporting. 

8 (I) Providing access to reading material, 

9 including reading materials for economically 

10 disadvantaged students, students from major 

11 racial and ethnic groups, students with disabil12 ities, students with limited English proficiency, 

13 migrant children, and homeless children. 

14 (3) CONSORTIA.—Local educational agencies 

15 may apply to the State for a grant as a consortium, 

16 if each member of the consortium meets the eligi17 bility requirement described in subsection (a). 

18 (c) USE OF FUNDS.—A local educational agency re19 ceiving a subgrant under this title shall use the funds to 

20 provide the following services at the middle school and 

21 high school levels (as defined by the agency): 

22 (1) Hiring and providing inservice training for 

23 literacy coaches who shall— 

24 (A) work with classroom teachers to incor25 porate reading and writing instruction within 


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1 all subject areas, during regular classroom peri2 ods and after school and summer school pro3 grams, for all students, including economically 

4 disadvantaged students, students from major 

5 racial and ethnic groups, students with disabil6 ities, students with limited English proficiency, 

7 migrant children, and homeless children; 

8 (B) work with classroom teachers to iden9 tify students with reading problems and provide 

10 remediation or referral for additional services; 

11 (C) in partnership with classroom teachers, 

12 diagnose and remediate reading difficulties of 

13 the lowest performing students (including low14 performing economically disadvantaged stu15 dents, students from major racial and ethnic 

16 groups, students with disabilities, students with 

17 limited English proficiency, migrant children, 

18 and homeless children) by providing intensive, 

19 research-based instruction (including before20 and after-school and summer sessions) focused 

21 on reading and writing skills and geared toward 

22 ensuring that such students can perform rig23 orous academic coursework in high school; and 


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1 (D) assess and organize student data on 

2 literacy and communicate such data to school 

3 administrators. 

4 (2) Providing one-on-one counseling to all stu5 dents, beginning in grade 9, who are at risk of not 

6 graduating on time because of insufficient accumula7 tion of credits, failure to pass State graduation ex8 aminations, or low or failing grades, which coun9 seling shall include— 

10 (A) developing individual graduation plans 

11 for such students so that they are able to grad12 uate from high school with a standard diploma 

13 before reaching 21 years of age or the max14 imum age for high school attendance in accord15 ance with State law; 

16 (B) working with students and their par17 ents or caregivers to develop an individual grad18 uation plan that will define each student’s ca19 reer and education goals, ensure enrollment in 

20 the coursework necessary for graduation and 

21 preparation for postsecondary education and 

22 work, and identify the courses and supple23 mental services necessary to meet those goals; 

24 (C) advocating for the student, helping the 

25 student to access the services and supports necVerDate Aug 31 2005 07:33 Mar 24, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1623.IH H1623

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1 essary to achieving the goals in the individual 

2 graduation plan; and 

3 (D) ensuring that limited or non-English 

4 speaking parents are able to understand the 

5 goals outlined in such plan and to participate in 

6 assisting their child in meeting such goals; 

7 (3) As necessary, hiring personnel to implement 

8 the requirements of paragraph (2). 

9 (4) Reviewing, analyzing, developing, and, 

10 where possible, adapting curricula to ensure literacy 

11 skills are taught within the content area subjects. 

12 (5) Providing reading professional development 

13 for all teachers in middle and high schools that ad14 dresses both remedial and higher level literacy skills 

15 for students in the applicable curricula. 

16 (6) Providing professional development for all 

17 teachers, administrators, and paraprofessionals, 

18 where appropriate, in middle and high schools that 

19 addresses the literacy needs of economically dis20 advantaged students, students from major racial and 

21 ethnic groups, students with disabilities, students 

22 with limited English proficiency, migrant children, 

23 and homeless children. 

24 (7) Procuring and implementing instructional 

25 materials, including screening, diagnostic, and classVerDate Aug 31 2005 07:33 Mar 24, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00014 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1623.IH H1623

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1 room-based instructional reading and writing assess2 ments, and software and other educational tech3 nology. 

4 (8) Evaluating the effectiveness of the instruc5 tional strategies, teacher professional development 

6 programs, and other interventions that are imple7 mented under the subgrant. 

8 (d) EVALUATIONS.—A local educational agency re9 ceiving a subgrant under this title shall provide to the 

10 State administering the subgrant interim reports, which 

11 may be included as part of a consolidated annual report, 

12 on the effectiveness of the interventions implemented 

13 using the subgrant after year 3 and year 6 of the subgrant 

14 award period. 

15 SEC. 105. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS; ALLOCA16 TIONS. 

17 (a) AUTHORIZATION.—For the purposes of carrying 

18 out this title, there are authorized to be appropriated 

19 $1,000,000,000 for fiscal year 2008 and such sums as 

20 may be necessary for the 5 succeeding fiscal years. 

21 (b) SPECIAL RULE.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—If the funds appropriated 

23 under this section for a fiscal year are less than 

24 $500,000,000, then the Secretary shall award 

25 grants, on a competitive basis, directly to eligible 


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1 local educational agencies to establish reading and 

2 writing programs to improve overall reading and 

3 writing performance among students in middle 

4 school and secondary school. 

5 (2) ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENT.—To be eligible 

6 to receive a grant under this subsection, a local edu7 cational agency shall be among the local educational 

8 agencies in the State with the lowest graduation 

9 rates for public secondary school students (as de10 fined in section 1111(b)(2)(C)(vi) of the Elementary 

11 and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

12 6311(b)(2)(C)(vi))). 

13 (c) STATE ALLOCATIONS.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—Of the funds appropriated 

15 under subsection (a), 95 percent shall be allocated to 

16 the States submitting applications under this title. 

17 (2) MINIMUM.—The minimum State allocation 

18 is 0.25 percent of the total amount allocated to 

19 States. 

20 (3) PUERTO RICO.—For any fiscal year, Puerto 

21 Rico shall receive an allocation that represents not 

22 more than the percentage of the total allocation it 

23 received under part A of title I of the Elementary 

24 and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

25 6311 et seq.) for the preceding fiscal year. 


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1 (4) SUPPLEMENT, NOT SUPPLANT.—States 

2 shall not use funds received under this title to sup3 plant funding already being provided by the State 

4 for such activities or for other educational activities. 

5 Funds may only be used to provide new services au6 thorized under this title. 

7 (5) REALLOCATION.—If a State does not apply 

8 for funding, the Secretary shall reallocate such 

9 State’s funds to the remaining States. 

10 (d) FUNDS RETAINED BY THE SECRETARY.—Funds 

11 retained by the Secretary shall be used to fund national 

12 activities in support of the programs funded under this 

13 title, except that the Secretary may not make direct grants 

14 to local educational agencies except as provided in sub15 section (b). 

16 (e) LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY SUBGRANTS.— 

17 (1) MINIMUM.—For any fiscal year, each eligi18 ble local educational agency shall receive a minimum 

19 subgrant amount equal to at least the percentage of 

20 the total allocation it received under part A of title 

21 I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act 

22 of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6311 et seq.) for the preceding 

23 fiscal year. 

24 (2) FULL IMPLEMENTATION.—Subgrants to eli25 gible local educational agencies shall be of sufficient 


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1 size and scope to enable such entities to fully imple2 ment programs. 

3 (3) SUPPLEMENT, NOT SUPPLANT.—Local edu4 cational agencies shall not use funds received under 

5 this title to supplant funding already being provided 

6 by a local educational agency for such activities or 

7 for other educational activities. Funds may only be 

8 used to provide new services authorized under this 

9 title. 

10 SEC. 106. DEFINITIONS. 

11 For the purposes of this title: 

12 (1) INDIVIDUAL GRADUATION PLAN.—The term 

13 ‘‘individual graduation plan’’ means a written plan, 

14 developed in partnership school personnel, parents, 

15 and students, to list the steps necessary for the indi16 vidual to achieve high school graduation with a 

17 standard diploma. 

18 (2) LITERACY COACH.—The term ‘‘literacy 

19 coach’’ means a certified teacher, with a dem20 onstrated effectiveness in teaching reading to stu21 dents with specialized needs and the ability to work 

22 with classroom teachers to improve their instruc23 tional techniques to support reading and writing im24 provement, who works on site at a school to— 


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1 (A) train teachers from across the cur2 riculum to incorporate the teaching of reading 

3 and writing skills into their instruction of con4 tent; 

5 (B) train teachers to assess students’ read6 ing and writing skills and identify students re7 quiring remediation; and 

8 (C) provide or assess remedial literacy in9 struction, including for after school and sum10 mer school programs, for students requiring at11 tention, including economically disadvantaged 

12 students, students from major racial and ethnic 

13 groups, students with disabilities, students with 

14 limited English proficiency, migrant children, 

15 and homeless children. 

16 (3) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

17 the Secretary of Education. 

18 (4) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means the 50 

19 States, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the District of 

20 Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, 

21 American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the 

22 Northern Mariana Islands. 


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1 TITLE II—ACCOUNTABILITY 

2 SEC. 201. ACCOUNTABILITY FOR ADEQUATE YEARLY 

3 PROGRESS. 

4 Section 1111(b)(2)(C) of the Elementary and Sec5 ondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6311(b)(2)(C)) 

6 is amended— 

7 (1) in clause (v)— 

8 (A) by striking the semicolon at the end of 

9 subclause (II) and inserting a period; and 

10 (B) by inserting after subclause (II) the 

11 following: 

12 ‘‘(III) In the case of secondary 

13 schools, the graduation rates for all 

14 students as described in clause (vi);’’; 

15 and 

16 (2) by amending clause (vi) to read as follows: 

17 ‘‘(vi) in accordance with subparagraph 

18 (D), includes graduation rates for public 

19 secondary school students (defined as the 

20 percentage of students who graduate from 

21 secondary school with a regular diploma, 

22 as defined by the State, before reaching 21 

23 years of age or the maximum age for high 

24 school attendance in accordance with State 


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1 law), measured separately for each group 

2 described in clause (v).’’. 

3 SEC. 202. GRADUATION RATE INFORMATION ON ANNUAL 

4 STATE REPORT CARDS. 

5 Section 1111(h)(1)(C) of the Elementary and Sec6 ondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6311(h)(1)(C)) 

7 is amended— 

8 (1) in clause (vii), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

9 (2) in clause (viii), by striking the period at the 

10 end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

11 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

12 ‘‘(ix) for secondary schools, informa13 tion in the aggregate on graduate rates de14 scribed in section 1111(b)(2)(C)(vi), 

15 disaggregated as described in clause (i).’’. 

16 SEC. 203. ADULT EDUCATION AND FAMILY LITERACY ACT 

17 ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS. 

18 Section 241 of the Adult Education and Family Lit19 eracy Act (20 U.S.C. 9251) is amended by adding at the 

20 end the following: 

21 ‘‘(c) REPORTS.— 

22 ‘‘(1) REPORTS TO THE SECRETARY.—An eligi23 ble agency receiving funds under this title shall an24 nually provide the Secretary with a report on the 

25 number participants who are 16, 17, or 18 years of 


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1 age in the programs and services provided under 

2 section 231, disaggregated by race, ethnicity, gen3 der, limited English proficiency status, disability, 

4 and socioeconomic status. 

5 ‘‘(2) REPORTS TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 

6 June 30, 2009, and by June 30 annually thereafter, 

7 the Secretary shall submit a report to the Congress 

8 containing the results of the eligible agency reports 

9 required by paragraph (1).’’. 

Æ 


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