President Bush decides that perhaps reading isn’t fundamental

Remember that mega-budget that President Bush recently submitted for fiscal year 2009? There were record increases for some niche budgets – like defense – but apparently not enough for reading.

President Bush’s budget eliminated funding for the Reading Is Fundamental book distribution program. Founded in 1966, Reading Is Fundamental is the oldest and largest children’s and family nonprofit literacy organization in the United States. The organization’s priority is reaching underserved children from birth to age 8. The organization provides 4.5 million children with 16 million new, free books and literacy resources each year. Yep, almost 5 million children.

In response, the organization is mounting a campaign to save funding. Your help is needed. To find out how to contact your senator and ask for Congressional support, click here.

To date, 19 senators and 67 state representatives have signed a Dear Colleague letter in support of the organization. You can find out whether your Congressional leaders have signed on by checking this list.