WASHINGTON, DC — In an effort to improve children's reading skills and promote a lifelong love of reading, the U.S. Senate approved Senator Jack Reed's (D-RI) annual legislation designating March 2, 2009 as "Read Across America Day." Reed's resolution, cosponsored by Senator Susan Collins (R-ME), encourages parents and children to take part in a nationwide reading celebration and honors Theodor Geisel, better known as Dr. Seuss, for his success in making reading fun for kids.

"Read Across America Day is a national celebration of reading. This year I encourage people to celebrate by picking up a newspaper and sharing it with a young person," said Senator Reed. "Newspapers are vital to our communities. They are also a great tool for teaching kids to read and encouraging them to learn about the world around them. Getting young people to incorporate reading the newspaper into their daily routine can help them open up a world of opportunities."

Started in 1998, and sponsored by the National Education Association (NEA), Read Across America Day has become the nation's largest reading celebration with more than 45 million readers nationwide participating at schools, libraries, hospitals, and community centers.

"We've been celebrating Read Across America Day for several years now and every year the celebration continues to grow. I hope we can keep up the momentum. I am pleased to once again offer legislation celebrating the joy and importance of reading," said Reed.

To celebrate Read Across America Day, NEA encourages events across the country to bring reading excitement to children of all ages. To learn more about Read Across America events taking place throughout Rhode Island, go to: http://www.nea.org/readacross/

Senator Reed has long been a champion of child literacy programs. Reed's Improving Literacy Through School Libraries program has provided over $122.5 million to help more children learn to read. Reed also introduced the Prescribe A Book Act with Senator Grassley (R-IA) to create a new, five-year $85 million initiative to create a federal pediatric early literacy grant program based on the long-standing, successful Reach Out and Read (ROR) program. It would allow doctors and nurses to provide low-income parents with a children's book to take home at every wellness visit along with advice about the importance of reading aloud to their child and age-appropriate reading tips.