wing programs are only the tipof the iceberg: Chapter I, cumulative funding from 1966 to 1996 = $90.5 billion. Right to Read, cumulative funding from 1971 to 1981 = $220 million. Bilingual education, cumulative funding from 1967 to 1996 = $3.2 billion. Special Education, cumulative funding from 1975 to 1996 (federal & state) = $370 billion. The six government agencies that provide the most funding for the problem of illiteracy are: The U.S. Departments of Education (29 programs), Labor (3programs), Health & Human Services (12 programs), Justice (2 programs), Defense (5 programs), and State (2 programs).In the National Literacy Act of 1991, the U.S. Congress established the National Institute for Literacy, with a recommended budget of $5 million and the goal ofdeveloping:"...integrated programs of research and development, identification and validation of effective practices, technical assistance, and dissemination activities designedto improve adult literacy and basic education skills needed for productive employment and citizenship."Although the purpose of the National Institute for Literacy is laudable, it is unlikely that progress will be made toward a literate America, unless there is anacknowledgement that research has already validated effective practices in teaching an individual to read. What we need is action, not more research, more talk,and more wasted taxpayer dollars!Now is the time for action!The overwhelming evidence from research and classroom results indicates that the cure for the "disease of illiteracy" is the restoration of the instructional practice ofintensive, systematic phonics in every primary school in America!Established in January 1993, the sole purpose of The National Right to Read Foundation is to eliminate illiteracy in America by returning direct, systematic phonicsto every first-grade classroom in America. To accomplish this objective will take the collective effort of parents,...
