HR 820

112th CONGRESS
1st Session

H. R. 820

To aid and support pediatric involvement in reading and education.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

February 18, 2011

Mr. PAYNE (for himself, Ms. BERKLEY, Ms. BROWN of Florida, Mr. HOLT, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr. CAPUANO, Mr. BARROW, Mr. GUTHRIE, Mr. ROTHMAN of New Jersey, Mr. POLIS, Mr. FILNER, Mr. YARMUTH, Mr. NEAL, Mr. OLVER, Mr. RANGEL, Ms. HIRONO, Mr. HINCHEY, Mr. FRANK of Massachusetts, Mr. MARKEY, Mr. KUCINICH, Ms. FUDGE, Mr. COHEN, Mr. HINOJOSA, Mr. LATHAM, Mrs. CAPPS, Mr. NADLER, and Mr. MCDERMOTT) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce

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A BILL

To aid and support pediatric involvement in reading and education.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the `Prescribe A Book Act'.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

In this Act:

(1) ELIGIBLE ENTITY- The term `eligible entity' means a nonprofit organization that has, as determined by the Secretary, demonstrated effectiveness in the following areas:

(A) Providing peer-to-peer training to healthcare providers in research-based methods of literacy promotion as part of routine pediatric health supervision visits.

(B) Delivering a training curriculum through a variety of medical education settings, including residency training, continuing medical education, and national pediatric conferences.

(C) Providing technical assistance to local healthcare facilities to effectively implement a high-quality Pediatric Early Literacy Program.

(D) Offering opportunities for local healthcare facilities to obtain books at significant discounts, as described in section 7.

(E) Integrating the latest developmental and educational research into the training curriculum for healthcare providers described in subparagraph (B).

(2) PEDIATRIC EARLY LITERACY PROGRAM- The term `Pediatric Early Literacy Program' means a program that--

(A) creates and implements a 3-part model through which--

(i) healthcare providers, doctors, and nurses, trained in research-based methods of early language and literacy promotion, encourage parents to read aloud to their young children, and offer developmentally appropriate recommendations and strategies to parents for the purpose of reading aloud to their children;

(ii) healthcare providers, at health supervision visits, provide each child between the ages of 6 months and 5 years a new, developmentally appropriate children's book to take home and keep; and

(iii) volunteers in waiting areas of healthcare facilities read aloud to children, modeling for parents the techniques and pleasures of sharing books together;

(B) demonstrates, through research published in peer-reviewed journals, effectiveness in positively altering parent behavior regarding reading aloud to children, and improving expressive and receptive language in young children; and

(C) receives the endorsement of nationally recognized medical associations and academies.

(3) SECRETARY- The term `Secretary' means the Secretary of Education.

SEC. 3. PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.

The Secretary is authorized to award grants to eligible entities to enable the eligible entities to implement Pediatric Early Literacy Programs.

SEC. 4. APPLICATIONS.

An eligible entity that desires to receive a grant under section 3 shall submit an application to the Secretary at such time, in such manner, and including such information as the Secretary may reasonably require.

SEC. 5. MATCHING REQUIREMENT.

An eligible entity receiving a grant under section 3 shall provide, either directly or through private contributions, non-Federal matching funds equal to not less than 50 percent of the grant received by the eligible entity under section 3. Such matching funds may be in cash or in-kind.

SEC. 6. USE OF GRANT FUNDS.

(a) In General- An eligible entity receiving a grant under section 3 shall--

(1) enter into contracts with private nonprofit organizations, or with public agencies, selected based on the criteria described in subsection (b), under which each contractor will agree to establish and operate a Pediatric Early Literacy Program;

(2) provide such training and technical assistance to each contractor of the eligible entity as may be necessary to carry out this Act; and

(3) include such other terms and conditions in an agreement with a contractor as the Secretary determines to be appropriate to ensure the effectiveness of such programs.

(b) Contractor Criteria- Each contractor shall be selected under subsection (a)(1) on the basis of the extent to which the contractor gives priority to serving a substantial number or percentage of at-risk children, including--

(1) children from families with an income below 200 percent of the poverty line (as defined by the Office of Management and Budget and revised annually in accordance with section 673(2) of the Community Services Block Grant Act (42 U.S.C. 9902(2)) applicable to a family of the size involved, particularly such children in high-poverty areas;

(2) children without adequate medical insurance;

(3) children enrolled in a State Medicaid program, established under title XIX of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1396 et seq.) or in the State Children's Health Insurance Program established under title XXI of such Act (42 U.S.C. 1397aa et seq.);

(4) children living in rural areas;

(5) migrant children; and

(6) children with limited access to libraries.

SEC. 7. RESTRICTION ON PAYMENTS.

The Secretary shall make no payment to an eligible entity under this Act unless the Secretary determines that the eligible entity or a contractor of the eligible entity, as the case may be, has made arrangements with book publishers or distributors to obtain books at discounts that are at least as favorable as discounts that are customarily given by such publisher or distributor for book purchases made under similar circumstances in the absence of Federal assistance.

SEC. 8. REPORTING REQUIREMENT.

An eligible entity receiving a grant under section 3 shall report annually to the Secretary on the effectiveness of the program implemented by the eligible entity and the programs instituted by each contractor of the eligible entity, and shall include in the report a description of each program.

SEC. 9. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this Act $15,000,000 for fiscal year 2012 and such sums as may be necessary for each of the succeeding 4 fiscal years.

END