Y 4. Ap 6/1:2 11/983/pt. ᏢᎪᎡᎢ 8 TESTIMONY OF MEMBERS OF CONGRESS AND COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS JAMIE L. WHITTEN, Mississippi, Chairman EDWARD P. BOLAND, Massachusetts JOSEPH P. ADDABBO, New York JOHN P. MURTHA, Pennsylvania JOSEPH D. EARLY, Massachusetts LINDY (MRS. HALE) BOGGS, Louisiana WILLIAM LEHMAN, Florida MARTIN OLAV SABO, Minnesota JULIAN C. DIXON, California VIC FAZIO, California W. G. (BILL) HEFNER, North Carolina LES AUCOIN, Oregon DANIEL K. AKAKA, Hawaii WES WATKINS, Oklahoma WILLIAM H. GRAY, III, Pennsylvania BERNARD J. DWYER, New Jersey SILVIO O. CONTE, Massachusetts J. KENNETH ROBINSON, Virginia CLAIR W. BURGENER, California JOHN EDWARD PORTER, Illinois KEITH F. MAINLAND, Clerk and Staff Director (II) i DEPARTMENTS OF LABOR, HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, EDUCATION, AND RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS FOR 1983 MONDAY, MARCH 29, 1982. TESTIMONY OF MEMBERS OF CONGRESS AND DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION EDUCATION PROGRAMS WITNESSES MRS. ELLIOT L. RICHARDSON, CHAIRMAN, READING IS FUNDAMENTAL, INC. RUTH GRAVES Mr. NATCHER. The Committee will come to order. Our first witness is Mrs. Elliot L. Richardson. Come around, Mrs. Richardson. Mrs. RICHARDSON. I would like to introduce my colleague, Ruth Graves, who will sit with me at the table. Mr. NATCHER. That will be fine. We are delighted to have you with us. We will be pleased to hear from you ladies. Mrs. RICHARDSON. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Chairman and members of the committee, Mr. Conte, on behalf of Reading Is Fundamental we thank you for the opportunity to testify, and also, we have prepared written testimony and ask that that be submitted for the record. We will speak today on the fiscal year 1983 appropriation for the Inexpensive Book Distribution Program for having insured that in fiscal year 1982 this program continued at the funding level of $5.85 million. We also thank the Congress for making sure, in the Education Act of 1981, that this book program would survive. In the 1981 Education Act, with bipartisan support, both Houses of Congress inserted special wording about this program in Section 583(B)(1), the Secretary's discretionary fund: From the funds reserved for the purpose of this section, the Secretary shall first fund the Inexpensive Book Distribution Program (as carried out through Reading is Fundamental)—at least in amounts necessary to sustain the activities at the level of operations during fiscal year 1981. In addition, this committee itself took action to insure that the book program would continue to receive funds at the fiscal year 1981 level. In its report on the fiscal year 1982 appropriations, the committee said: |