SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 30
(By Senators Wagner, Chafin, Anderson and Whitlow)
Requesting the United States Congress and the United States
department of education provide funding for the construction
of a national literacy center in southern West Virginia.
Whereas, Less than half of high school seniors read at
adequate levels to carry out moderately complex tasks and eighty
percent have inadequate writing skills; and
Whereas, The United States department of education has
reported that almost half of Americans over the age of sixteen
are unfit for employment in most workplaces because of their
inabilities in basic reading, math competence and comprehension
of charts, graphs and timetables; and
Whereas, Southern West Virginia is nationally recognized as
having an image of a higher level of proportionate illiteracy;
and
Whereas, The public seeking benefits from adult education
opportunities are faced with a complication of literacy programs
that are not networked or interactive because of insufficient
state and federal direction; and
Whereas, There is no clearinghouse of accurate data on
illiteracy nor a realistic evaluation of the social and economic
crises posed by growing illiteracy; therefore, be it
Resolved by the Senate:
That the Senate hereby supports the construction of a
national center in southern West Virginia that will direct,
consolidate, research and develop national programs to identify
the national crisis of illiteracy, its impact on the future of
social and national security and formulate national polices and
programs to redirect a campaign to reverse the impact; and, be it
Further Resolved, That the Senate hereby requests the United
States Congress and the United States department of education to
provide funding for the construction of a national literacy
center and that it be located in southern West Virginia; and, be
it
Further Resolved, That the Clerk is hereby directed to
forward a copy of this resolution to United States Senator Robert
C. Byrd, chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee; United
States Senator John D. Rockefeller IV; United States
Representative Nick Joe Rahall; the president of the United
States, Bill Clinton; and the United States secretary of
education, Richard Riley.