****Begin File******************Begin File*******************Begin File**** *************************************************************************** ISSN 1069-7799 ALAWON ALA Washington Office Newsline An electronic publication of the American Library Association Washington Office Volume 3, Number 29 June 21, 1994 In this issue: (166 lines) NEH PROGRAM THREAT URGENT ACTION NEEDED TO KEEP FUNDS FOR GPO ELECTRONIC ACCESS LIBRARY OF CONGRESS APPROPRIATIONS PASSED *************************************************************************** NEH PROGRAM THREAT When the FY 1995 Interior Appropriations bill, H.R. 2520, reaches the House floor tomorrow, June 22, Rep. Cliff Stearns (R-Fla.) plans to offer an amendment to reduce the National Endowment for the Humanities budget by 5 percent. This would be a cut of $9 million dollars. The drastic cut would impact programs in Preservation and Access and Humanities Projects in Libraries and Archives, as well as other NEH programs. Considering the benefits to those across the country, the total NEH budget of $177.4 million is not a large amount. Humanities programs in libraries not only stimulate discussion on humanities subjects, but have an increasing effect on family members and friends. The NEH preservation programs have enabled significant progress in arresting damage to books and manuscripts with high acidic paper content, and microfilming of the precious history of American newspapers in various states. ACTION NEEDED: This proposed cut should be vigorously opposed. Contact House members and ask them to speak for NEH programs on the floor tomorrow and oppose Rep. Stearns' 5 percent cut. *************************************************************************** URGENT ACTION NEEDED TO KEEP FUNDS FOR GPO ELECTRONIC ACCESS The Senate included $1.5 million dollars to implement the GPO Access Act when it passed H.R. 4454, Legislative Branch Appropriations for FY 1995 (S. Rept. 103-283), on June 16 (see _Congressional Record_, pp. 7033-52). An outcry from constituents convinced Senators to restore the $1.5 million the House had cut from the Superintendent of Documents Salaries and Expenses appropriation in passing the bill on May 26. The Senate approved $32.207 million for the SuDocs Salaries and Expenses, compared to the House-passed $30.6 million. The Depository Library Program is funded through this account which was $29.082 in FY 1994. Additionally, Senators responded to their constituents by: * Agreeing to a floor amendment by Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.) to strike language in H.R. 4454 that would have required that the GPO Access Act objectives "shall be carried out through cost savings." The language is still in the House-passed version of H.R. 4454 and will be a conference item. * Agreeing to a floor amendment by Sen. Conrad Burns (R-Mont.) to insert legislative language providing that: "Any Federal officer or employee who publishes a Government publication or orders or contracts for an individual printing order under paragraph (2) shall comply with all applicable provisions of Chapter 19, title 44, United States Code, regarding distribution of Government publications by the Government Printing Office to Federal depository libraries." This language would help to solve the "fugitive" documents problem that occurs when agencies print or procure government publications outside the Government Printing Office with the result that these publications frequently are not included in the Depository Library Program distribution. This provision will also be subject to conference. * Adding "duplicating" to the definition of printing as a cost-saving amendment regarding the printing of government documents--also a conference item. The amendment by Sen. Burns requires that large print jobs be sent to the 21 regional centers of the Government Printing Office and awarded to open-competitive, private-sector bids. These private sector competitive jobs save taxpayers approximately 50 percent over the agency in-house jobs of over $1000 in cost. This change in definition would also help to keep publications in the Depository Library System that ensures distribution of publications to the public through depository libraries. House-Senate conference on the bill is the next crucial step in the passage of H.R. 4454. The conference is planned for June 23. ACTION NEEDED: Thank your Senators for their support of public access to electronic government information through depository libraries. Immediately contact Senate conferees on H.R. 4454, Senators Harry Reid (D- Nev.), Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.), Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Robert Byrd (D- W.Va.), Connie Mack (R-Fla.), Conrad Burns (R-Mont.) and Mark Hatfield (R- Ore.), to thank them for their help on restoring the funds needed to implement the GPO Access Act and to ask them to insist on their amendments that will benefit public access to government information. The House conferees have not been named yet, but are likely to include the members of the Legislative Branch Appropriations Subcommittee Representatives Vic Fazio (D-Calif.), James Moran (D-Va.), David Obey (D- Wis.), John Murtha (D-Pa.), Bob Carr (D-Mich.), Jim Chapman (D-Texas), C.W. Bill Young (R-Fla.), Ron Packard (R-Calif.), and Charles Taylor (R-N.C.). Contact them immediately and ask them to agree to: * Accept $32.207 million for the Superintendent of Documents Salaries and Expenses for FY 1995. * Omit the statutory language requiring that the GPO Access Act objectives "shall be carried out through cost savings." * Include language that any federal officer or employee who publishes a government publication or orders or contracts for an individual printing order is to "comply with all applicable provisions of chapter 19, title 44, United States Code, regarding distribution of Government publications by the Government Printing Office to Federal depository libraries." * Include "duplicating" in the definition of printing. * Omit report language that would preclude GPO from distributing the U.S. Code on paper to depositories. *************************************************************************** LIBRARY OF CONGRESS APPROPRIATIONS PASSED THE SENATE When the Senate passed its version of H.R. 4454 on June 16 it approved a total of $348.855 million (includes authority to obligate $25.28 million in receipts) for the Library of Congress, as opposed to the House-passed $344.428 million (with authority to obligate $24.26 million). Legislative Branch Appropriations Subcommittee Chair Harry Reid (D-Nev.) told his colleagues that the Library of Congress "is not only a great library, but it is the finest library in the history of the world." Then he told them that previous years' sharp contractions in staffing and resources has had its consequences, mentioning the fact that the Library is now closed on Sundays for the first time in its history. Sen. Reid went on to say that "Without the Library of Congress, other libraries in the United States would find it much more difficult to maintain the service they provide to their communities." He pointed out: "It is estimated that if the Library of Congress did not function in this manner it would cost the States in excess of $300 million annually in costs that local public libraries certainly could not afford." *************************************************************************** *************************************************************************** ALAWON (ISSN 1069-7799) is an irregular publication of the American Library Association Washington Office, 110 Maryland Avenue, N.E., Washington, DC 20002-5675. Internet: alawash@alawash.org; Phone: 202-547-4440; Fax: 202-547-7363. Editor: Lee G. Enyart (lge@alawash.org). ALAWON is available free of charge and is available only in electronic form. To subscribe, send the message "subscribe ala-wo [your name]" to listserv@uicvm (Bitnet) or listserv@uicvm.uic.edu (Internet). Back issues and other documents are available from the list server. 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