It is no secret that America is at risk of losing its place as a world leader in education. Some 88 million adults in America need help with their English as a Second Language (ESL) and basic skills, yet the nation is currently providing services to only 3 million people. The Commission on Adult Literacy calls for bold change at the state and federal levels to address this challenge. The author offers two overarching recommendations: (1) Congress should transform the adult education and literacy system as it is now known into an adult education and workforce skills system with the capacity to effectively serve 20 million adults annually by the year 2020; and (2) Congress and state governments should make readiness for postsecondary education and workforce the primary mission of the adult education and workforce skills system. The recommended federal and state actions offered in this paper aim to increase dramatically the number of adult Americans with limited basic skills who receive basic skills instruction as defined in the Act. They should result in "seamless pathways of instruction" from the lowest levels of proficiency to attainment of a General Educational Development (GED) and/or readiness for occupational and/or postsecondary education. (Contains 3 footnotes.)