I 
108TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2795
To amend the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 to provide vouchers for the 
purchase of educational books for infants and children participating 
in the special supplemental nutrition program for women, infants, and 
children under that Act. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 18, 2003
Mrs. MALONEY (for herself and Ms. NORTON) introduced the following bill; 
which was referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce 
A BILL 
To amend the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 to provide vouch-
ers for the purchase of educational books for infants 
and children participating in the special supplemental 
nutrition program for women, infants, and children 
under that Act.
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 ‘‘Access to Books for 
Children Act’’ or the ‘‘ABC Act’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
The Congress finds the following:
(1) Reading to a child plays a crucial role in 
the development of the child’s brain from the earliest 
years. 
(2) According to a 1995 study by the National 
Commission on Reading, reading aloud to a child is 
the single most important tool for developing literacy 
skills. 
(3) A child who is not introduced to books and 
early literacy practices is more than three times as 
likely to drop out of school as a child who is intro-
duced to books and early literacy practices. 
(4) The American Academy of Pediatrics rec-
ommends daily reading to a child beginning when 
the child is just 6 months old and recommends that 
pediatricians prescribe reading activities and other 
instruction to parents during well-child visits. 
SEC. 3. AMENDMENT TO THE CHILD NUTRITION ACT OF 
1966. 
Section 17 of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 
U.S.C. 1786) is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(s) VOUCHERS FOR PURCHASE OF EDUCATIONAL 
BOOKS FOR INFANTS AND CHILDREN.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out the pro-
gram under this section, the Secretary shall provide
grants to local agencies for the purpose of providing 
vouchers to women participating in the program for 
the purchase of educational books for the infants 
and children of such women. 
‘‘(2) ADDITIONAL
REQUIREMENTS.—In pro-
viding vouchers pursuant to paragraph (1), a local 
agency shall comply with the following requirements: 
‘‘(A) A woman may receive not more than 
1 voucher (irrespective of the number of infants 
or children of the woman). 
‘‘(B) The amount of a voucher may not ex-
ceed $5. 
‘‘(3) FUNDING.—
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Of the amounts made 
available to the Department of Education for 
fiscal years 2004, 2005, and 2006, $10,000,000 
shall be made available to carry out this sub-
section (except as provided in subparagraph 
(B)) for each such fiscal year. 
‘‘(B) ADMINISTRATIVE
COSTS.—In addi-
tion to amounts made available under subpara-
graph (A), there are authorized to be appro-
priated to the Secretary $1,000,0000 for each 
of the fiscal years 2004, 2005, and 2006 for
the administrative costs in carrying out this 
subsection. 
‘‘(C) AVAILABILITY.—Amounts made avail-
able under subparagraphs (A) and (B) are au-
thorized to remain available until expended.’’.
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