IV 
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 reproduc-
tion of musical scores; 
Whereas contrary to widely believed myths, Braille is not dif-
ficult to learn, nor is reading Braille slower than reading 
print; 
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•HRES 1034 IH 
Whereas while technology has improved the lives of blind peo-
ple by facilitating quick access to information, no tech-
nology can replace Braille literacy, since literacy is the 
ability to read and to write and to do the two inter-
actively; 
Whereas despite its efficiency, versatility, and universal ac-
ceptance 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 Na-
tion’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 re-
verse 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 Bicen-
tennial-Braille Literacy Commemorative Coin Act author-
izing 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 
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•HRES 1034 IH 
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 des-
ignate as ‘‘National Braille Literacy Month’’: Now, there-
fore, 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. 
Æ 
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