I
107TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 116
To establish a program to promote child literacy by making books available
through early learning and other child care programs, and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
JANUARY 3, 2001
Mr. HOLT introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee
on Education and the Workforce, and in addition to the Committee on
Government Reform, for a period to be subsequently determined by the
Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within
the jurisdiction of the committee concerned
A BILL
To establish a program to promote child literacy by making
books available through early learning and other child
care programs, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Book Stamp Act’’.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) Literacy is fundamental to all learning.
(2) Between 40 and 60 percent of the Nation’s
children do not read at grade level, particularly chil-
dren in families or school districts that are chal-
lenged by significant financial or social instability.
(3) Increased investments in child literacy are
needed to improve opportunities for children and the
efficacy of the Nation’s education investments.
(4) Increasing access to books in the home is
an important means of improving child literacy,
which can be accomplished nationally at modest cost.
(5) Effective channels for book distribution al-
ready exist through child care providers.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) EARLY
LEARNING
PROGRAM.—The term
‘‘early learning’’, used with respect to a program,
means a program of activities designed to facilitate
development of cognitive, language, motor, and so-
cial-emotional skills in children under age 6 as a
means of enabling the children to enter school ready
to learn, such as a Head Start or Early Head Start
program carried out under the Head Start Act (42
U.S.C. 9831 et seq.), or a State pre-kindergarten
program.
(2) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means
the Secretary of Health and Human Services.
(3) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means the 50
States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth
of Puerto Rico, Guam, the United States Virgin Is-
lands, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of
the Northern Mariana Islands.
(4) STATE AGENCY.—The term ‘‘State agency’’
means an agency designated under section 658D of
the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of
1990 (42 U.S.C. 9858b).
SEC. 4. GRANTS TO STATE AGENCIES.
(a) ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAM.—The Secretary
shall establish and carry out a program to promote child
literacy and improve children’s access to books at home
and in early learning and other child care programs, by
making books available through early learning and other
child care programs.
(b) GRANTS.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out the program,
the Secretary shall make grants to State agencies
from allotments determined under paragraph (2).
(2) ALLOTMENTS.—For each fiscal year, the
Secretary shall allot to each State an amount that
bears the same ratio to the total of the available
funds for the fiscal year as the amount the State re-
ceives under section 658O(b) of the Child Care and
Development Block Grant Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C.
9858m(b)) for the fiscal year bears to the total
amount received by all States under that section for
the fiscal year.
(c) APPLICATIONS.—To be eligible to receive an allot-
ment under this section, a State shall submit an applica-
tion to the Secretary at such time, in such manner, and
containing such information as the Secretary may require.
(d) ACCOUNTABILITY.—The provisions of sections
658I(b) and 658K(b) of the Child Care and Development
Block Grant Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 9858g(b), 9858i(b))
shall apply to States receiving grants under this Act, ex-
cept that references in those sections—
(1) to a subchapter shall be considered to be
references to this Act; and
(2) to a plan or application shall be considered
to be references to an application submitted under
subsection (c).
(e) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘‘available
funds’’, used with respect to a fiscal year, means the total
of—
dren’s access to books at home and in early learning
and other child care programs.
(2) ELIGIBLE PROVIDERS.—To be eligible to re-
ceive a payment under paragraph (1), a provider
shall—
(A)(i) be a center-based child care pro-
vider, a group home child care provider, or a
family child care provider, described in section
658P(5)(A) of the Child Care and Development
Block 
Grant 
Act 
of 
1990 
(42 
U.S.C.
9858n(5)(A)); or
(ii) be a Head Start agency designated
under section 641 of the Head Start Act (42
U.S.C. 9836), an entity that receives assistance
under section 645A of such Act to carry out an
Early Head Start program or another provider
of an early learning program; and
(B) provide services in an area where chil-
dren face high risks of literacy difficulties, as
defined by the Secretary.
(b) RESPONSIBILITIES.—A child care resource and
referral agency that receives a contract under section 5
to provide payments to eligible providers shall—
(1) consult with local individuals and organiza-
tions concerned with early literacy (including parents
and organizations carrying out the Reach Out and
Read, First Book, and Reading Is Fundamental pro-
grams) regarding local book distribution needs;
(2) make reasonable efforts to learn public de-
mographic and other information about local fami-
lies and child literacy programs carried out by the
eligible providers, as needed to inform the agency’s
decisions as the agency carries out the contract;
(3) coordinate local orders of the books made
available under this Act;
(4) distribute, to each eligible provider that re-
ceives a payment under this Act, not fewer than 1
book every 6 months for each child served by the
provider for more than 3 of the preceding 6 months;
(5) use not more than 5 percent of the funds
made available through the contract to provide train-
ing and technical assistance to the eligible providers
on the effective use of books with young children at
different stages of development; and
(6) be a training resource for eligible providers
that want to offer parent workshops on developing
reading readiness.
(c) DISCOUNTS.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—Federal funds made avail-
able under this Act for the purchase of books may
only be used to purchase books on the same terms
as are customarily available in the book industry to
entities carrying out nonprofit bulk book purchase
and distribution programs.
(2) TERMS.—An entity offering books for pur-
chase under this Act shall be present to have met
the requirements of paragraph (1), absent contrary
evidence, if the terms include a discount of 43 per-
cent off the catalogue price of the books, with no ad-
ditional charge for shipping and handling of the
books.
(d) ADMINISTRATION.—The child care resource and
referral agency may not use more than 6 percent of the
funds made available through the contract for administra-
tive costs.
SEC. 7. REPORT TO CONGRESS.
Not later than 2 years of the date of enactment of
this Act, the Secretary shall prepare and submit to Con-
gress a report on the implementation of the activities car-
ried out under this Act.
SEC. 8. SPECIAL POSTAGE STAMPS FOR CHILD LITERACY.
Chapter 4 of title 39, United States Code is amended
by adding at the end the following:
‘‘§ 416. Special postage stamps for child literacy
‘‘(a) In order to afford the public a convenient way
to contribute to funding for child literacy, the Postal Serv-
ice shall establish a special rate of postage for first-class
mail under this section. The stamps that bear the special
rate of postage shall promote childhood literacy and shall,
to the extent practicable, contain an image relating to a
character in a children’s book or cartoon.
‘‘(b)(1) The rate of postage established under this
section—
‘‘(A) shall be equal to the regular first-class
rate of postage, plus a differential of not to exceed
25 percent;
‘‘(B) shall be set by the Governors in accord-
ance with such procedures as the Governors shall by
regulation prescribe (in lieu of the procedures de-
scribed in chapter 36); and
‘‘(C) shall be offered as an alternative to the
regular first-class rate of postage.
‘‘(2) The use of the special rate of postage established
under this section shall be voluntary on the part of postal
patrons.
‘‘(c)(1) Of the amounts becoming available for child
literacy pursuant to this section, the Postal Service shall
pay 100 percent to the Department of Health and Human
Services.
‘‘(2) Payments made under this subsection to the De-
partment shall be made under such arrangements as the
Postal Service shall by mutual agreement with such De-
partment establish in order to carry out the objectives of
this section, except that, under those arrangements, pay-
ments to such agency shall be made at least twice a year.
‘‘(3) In this section, the term ‘amounts becoming
available for child literacy pursuant to this section’
means—
‘‘(A) the total amounts received by the Postal
Service that the Postal Service would not have re-
ceived but for the enactment of this section; reduced
by
‘‘(B) an amount sufficient to cover reasonable
costs incurred by the Postal Service in carrying out
this section, including costs attributable to the print-
ing, sale, and distribution of stamps under this sec-
tion,
as determined by the Postal Service under regulations that
the Postal Service shall prescribe.
‘‘(d) It is the sense of Congress that nothing in this
section should—
‘‘(1) directly or indirectly cause a net decrease
in total funds received by the Department of Health
and Human Services, or any other agency of the
Government (or any component or program of the
Government), below the level that would otherwise
have been received but for the enactment of this sec-
tion; or
‘‘(2) affect regular first-class rates of postage
or any other regular rates of postage.
‘‘(e) Special postage stamps made available under
this section shall be made available to the public beginning
on such date as the Postal Service shall by regulation pre-
scribe, but in no event later than 12 months after the date
of enactment of this section.
‘‘(f) The Postmaster General shall include in each re-
port provided under section 2402, with respect to any pe-
riod during any portion of which this section is in effect,
information concerning the operation of this section, ex-
cept that, at a minimum, each report shall include infor-
mation on—
‘‘(1) the total amounts described in subsection
(c)(3)(A) that were received by the Postal Service
during the period covered by such report; and
‘‘(2) of the amounts described in paragraph (1),
how much (in the aggregate and by category) was
required for the purposes described in subsection
(c)(3)(B).
‘‘(g) This section shall cease to be effective at the
end of the 2-year period beginning on the date on which
special postage stamps made available under this section
are first made available to the public.’’.
SEC. 9. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out
this Act $50,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2002 through
2006.
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