•HRES 81 IH 
helped ensure that almost every school and library across 
the United States has Internet access; 
Whereas this dedication was further demonstrated through 
the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, 
which called for the creation of the National Broadband 
Plan; 
Whereas the National Broadband Plan set a goal of having 
a 90-percent broadband adoption rate by 2020; 
Whereas these and other programs have strived to create a 
more productive, creative, and efficient Nation, where af-
fordable broadband Internet is available everywhere and 
everyone has the means and skills to use valuable 
broadband applications; 
Whereas the United States has taken enormous strides dur-
ing the last two decades in moving from analog to digital 
communications technologies and from limited access to 
near-universal access to mobile broadband, but more 
work remains to be done; 
Whereas it is estimated that 100 million Americans have not 
adopted broadband Internet in the home and one in five 
adults have no digital literacy skills; 
Whereas having no digital literacy skills means that a person 
does not possess the knowledge of how to operate a com-
puter or use the Internet; 
Whereas Americans who do not use the Internet are missing 
out on opportunities to further their education, to access 
innovative health care services, and to find and qualify 
for a job; 
Whereas more than 80 percent of Fortune 500 companies 
now require online job applications; 
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•HRES 81 IH 
Whereas the impact is particularly great in urban, low-in-
come, minority, and rural areas, and less than one-third 
of the poorest Americans have adopted broadband; 
Whereas there is growing evidence of a ‘‘skills mismatch’’, 
which leaves unfilled many jobs that require basic digital 
skills, such as knowing how to use a computer, perform 
an electronic search, and upload or process a transaction; 
Whereas without increased training in these skills, this prob-
lem is likely to worsen in the future, with nearly 80 per-
cent of jobs in the next decade projected to require dig-
ital skills; 
Whereas the digital divide keeps teachers from assigning 
Internet-based homework if a significant percentage of 
their students do not have broadband access at home, 
and teaching to the lowest digital denominator does not 
work for our children or our country; 
Whereas digital literacy is essential for education and pre-
paring our children for the economy of the future, but 
when roughly one-third of American children do not use 
the Internet at home, all children are impacted; 
Whereas National Digital Literacy Day is a purely volunteer 
event during which Americans can focus on increasing 
awareness of what the Internet has to offer by helping 
others overcome their concerns and fears about getting 
online through emphasizing how the Internet is person-
ally relevant to their lives; 
Whereas leaders in the public and private sectors have 
worked together and should continue to collaborate and 
partner to bring the benefits of the Internet to Americans 
of all ages; and 
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•HRES 81 IH 
Whereas March 21 would be an appropriate day to designate 
as National Digital Literacy Day: Now, therefore, be it 
Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 
(1) supports the designation of National Digital 
Literacy Day; and 
(2) reaffirms the continued need to promote 
digital literacy, broadband access, and broadband 
adoption in the United States. 
Æ 
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