I 
108TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 126
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 7, 2003
Mr. HOLT (for himself, Mr. CUNNINGHAM, and Mrs. NORTHUP) 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—
(1) the funds made available under section 
416(c)(1) of title 39, United States Code for the fis-
cal year; and 
(2) the amounts appropriated under section 9 
for the fiscal year. 
SEC. 5. CONTRACTS TO CHILD CARE RESOURCE AND
REFERRAL AGENCIES. 
A State agency that receives a grant under section 
4 shall use funds made available through the grant to 
enter into contracts with local child care resource and re-
ferral agencies to carry out the activities described in sec-
tion 6. The State agency may reserve not more than 3 
percent of the funds made available through the grant to 
support a public awareness campaign relating to the ac-
tivities. 
SEC. 6. USE OF FUNDS. 
(a) ACTIVITIES.—
(1) BOOK
PAYMENTS
FOR
ELIGIBLE
PRO-
VIDERS.—A child care resource and referral agency 
that receives a contract under section 5 shall use the 
funds made available through the grant to provide 
payments for eligible early learning program and 
other child care providers, on the basis of local 
needs, to enable the providers to make books avail-
able, to promote child literacy and improve chil-
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