DECLARING FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 2002 TO BE "LITERACY DAY" IN THE NEW MEXICO HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.

WHEREAS, the New Mexico coalition for literacy has been in existence for fifteen years; and

WHEREAS, during those years, as many as forty-five thousand adult students have been served by volunteer literacy programs in the state; and

WHEREAS, eighteen thousand volunteer tutors have received training from the New Mexico coalition for literacy during that fifteen-year period; and

WHEREAS, those volunteers have provided over one million two hundred thousand hours of instruction for the students they have served; and

WHEREAS, a literate population in New Mexico will:

A. attract better jobs to the state;

B. provide a more versatile and trained work force for employers in New Mexico, which will increase the average pay and help develop more stimulating and satisfying jobs for New Mexicans;

C. enable more New Mexicans to enter higher education programs;

D. permit parents to become more involved in their children's education;

E. create a more informed populace, which will address the issues that face residents of the state and may lead to a greater number of voters in the state;

F. become more informed and better consumers;

G. become more active in their communities; and

H. gain self-confidence and self-esteem;

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that Friday, February 1, 2002, for all the reasons noted herein, be declared "Literacy Day" in the New Mexico house of representatives.