Recognizing the 50th anniversary of Sesame Street.

IV 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. RES. 540 Recognizing the 50th anniversary of Sesame Street. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES AUGUST 16, 2019 Mrs. LOWEY (for herself and Mr. COLE) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor RESOLUTION Recognizing the 50th anniversary of Sesame Street. Whereas Sesame Street will celebrate its 50th year of contin- uous broadcast on stations of the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) in the United States on November 10, 2019; Whereas, as the longest running program on PBS, Sesame Street has continued to bring critical early learning to generations through the beloved and iconic Muppets of Sesame Street, including Big Bird, Cookie Monster, Bert and Ernie, and Elmo; Whereas Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit educational organi- zation that set a new standard with Sesame Street, has created an entire genre of educational media to help chil- dren around the world grow smarter, stronger, and kinder; VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:53 Aug 16, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR540.IH HR540 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HRES 540 IH Whereas Sesame Street remains the ‘‘longest street in the world’’, reaching more than 160 million children in more than 150 countries; Whereas international programming includes local adapta- tions of Sesame Street customized to the unique needs and challenges of children in different languages and cul- tures in such countries as South Africa, Afghanistan, Mexico, and Bangladesh, among others; Whereas Sesame Street remains the most researched chil- dren’s educational television program in history, with more than 1,000 independent studies documenting its ef- ficacy; Whereas longitudinal studies have shown that preschoolers who frequently watched Sesame Street scored higher on school readiness tests than less-frequent or nonviewers; Whereas frequent preschool viewing of Sesame Street is asso- ciated with higher high school grade point averages; Whereas Sesame Workshop deploys bold educational pro- grams that open doors to opportunity for vulnerable chil- dren and their communities through its social impact work; Whereas Sesame Street characters and content have been used to help children of military families cope with the challenges of deployment, relocation, injury, and grief; Whereas Sesame Street’s autism initiative promotes accept- ance and understanding and helps children and families face everyday challenges, while fighting the stigma often associated with autism; Whereas Sesame Workshop’s groundbreaking new program, Sesame Street in Communities, is helping children in communities across the United States who are experi- VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:53 Aug 16, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR540.IH HR540 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HRES 540 IH encing trauma such as family homelessness, parental sub- stance abuse and addiction, or food insecurity; Whereas Sesame Workshop has, through ‘‘Muppet Diplo- macy’’, brought international attention to advance the importance of girls’ education and gender equity in Af- ghanistan, India, and countries in the Gulf Region, mu- tual respect and inclusivity in Northern Ireland and be- tween the Israelis and Palestinians, and destigmatization of HIV/AIDS in South Africa; Whereas Sesame Workshop is working to help transform the lives of millions of the world’s most vulnerable children who have been displaced by the enduring, tragic conflict in Syria and providing for the educational needs of ref- ugee populations in Bangladesh and throughout the Mid- dle East; Whereas Sesame Workshop has trained hundreds of media professionals to create educational and entertaining pup- pet-based media for children, fostering new talent in the areas of production, puppeteering, and writing, among others; Whereas, for more than 5 decades, Sesame Workshop has partnered with foundations, corporations, and commu- nities of all sizes to extend the reach of its programs and to support meaningful social impact work; Whereas Sesame Workshop has received a record-setting 192 Emmy awards to date and numerous other accolades, no- tably as the most impactful program in the history of tel- evision for its innovative work in using the power of media to help children learn and grow, preparing them for success in school and life; and VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:53 Aug 16, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR540.IH HR540 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HRES 540 IH Whereas Sesame Workshop has been a unique, trusted, and educational force for children for 50 years and deserves recognition for this historic milestone and the support of the House of Representatives: Now, therefore, be it Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 1 (1) recognizes the 50th anniversary of the tele- 2 vision program Sesame Street; 3 (2) recognizes the enduring contributions of 4 Sesame Workshop to the national goal of preparing 5 every child to be ready for school; 6 (3) congratulates Sesame Workshop for its ex- 7 emplary track record in producing award-winning 8 programming that has transformed the lives of mil- 9 lions of children and families in the United States 10 and globally; and 11 (4) expresses its admiration and support for 12 Sesame Workshop as it continues its path-breaking 13 work with educational media and social impact con- 14 tent to help every child across the globe grow up 15 smarter, stronger, and kinder. 16 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:53 Aug 16, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\HR540.IH HR540 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS