As the father of a public school teacher and the husband of a retired teacher, I know first-hand how important it is that we encourage and teach our children to read. Every time I visit schools across Georgia, I emphasize the importance of reading to students. I encourage students to read books, magazines, or newspapers, whatever they prefer, because the joy of reading is a gift that will last a lifetime.

Parental and adult involvement is also so important in helping to instill the excitement and importance of reading to children. That’s why I have successfully authored an important provision, which the U.S. Senate approved, that would further encourage reading to children.

Specifically, my measure would expand a successful program that promotes and educates parents about the importance of reading aloud to their children called Reach Out and Read. My amendment would allow the children of America’s military men and women the opportunity to benefit from this important program funded by the U.S. Department of Education and through private donations.

The Reach Out and Read program promotes early literacy and brings new books and advice about the importance of reading aloud into pediatric exam rooms. For example, Reach Out and Read partners with 2,337 program sites across the country and offers free books to children that visit the clinics for their well child visits. The sites are all located at clinics, hospitals, office practices and other primary care sites serving more than 2 million children distributing more than 3.2 million books annually.

Doctors and nurses at participating clinics, health departments, and hospitals provide these new books to children from six months to age 5 years, and they accompany these books with developmentally appropriate advice to parents about reading aloud with their children.

While I am pleased that the program has a strong presence in Georgia, with over forty participating sites, there are currently are no participating sites on any of our thirteen military installations. That’s why I offered my amendment for military families, by calling for a pilot program of this kind at several of America’s military installation health centers and clinics. Doing so would allow the children growing up on our nation’s military installations the option to participate in the same federally funded programs that are offered to non-military families and children.

According to Reach Out and Read, the program is based on research that shows a connection between the frequency of sharing books with babies, toddlers and young children and enhanced language development.

Reading is so important. It is imperative for students of all ages to learn to read, and it is important for parents to begin reading aloud to their children at an early age. My hope is that all children will discover the joy of reading, and that they will continue to read throughout their lives.