****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 36 July 20, 1994 In this issue: (153 lines) ALA PROPOSES PLAN TO FCC TO CONNECT SCHOOLS AND LIBRARIES TO NII ARTS AND HUMANITIES ENDOWMENT FUNDING PASSES THE HOUSE ORGANIZATION OF CONGRESS *************************************************************************** ALA PROPOSES PLAN TO FCC TO CONNECT SCHOOLS AND LIBRARIES TO NII The ALA Washington Office joined with four national education groups to present the Federal Communications Commission with an innovative plan that could speed up the connection of libraries and schools to the National Information Infrastructure. The plan would use regulatory policy to benefit the public without raising prices. Organizations joining ALA in the FCC filing were the Council of Chief State School Officers, the National Education Association, the National Association of Secondary School Principals, and the National School Boards Association. The proposal was submitted to the FCC on June 29 as part of a "price cap" proceeding to review how best to set the rates charged by local telephone companies for long distance companies to have access to their networks. Currently, a complex formula requires an annual rate adjustment that includes something known as the "Consumer Productivity Dividend (CPD)." According to the joint filing, "the record is clear that this benefit has not materialized for most, if any, consumers....At best, the 'dividend' has disappeared down a regulatory black hole, leaving the vast majority of consumers without any noticeable benefit." The groups urged the FCC to redirect the CPD into a program to pay for investments made by local telephone companies in educational and library infrastructure in their territories. "The system would work as a significant incentive for [local telephone companies] to meet the urgent universal service needs of education and libraries to be effective users of the information superhighway in the future," according to the filing. If the proposal is adopted, up to $300 million a year could be made available for connecting schools and libraries. ALA and its four education group partners are interested in seeking endorsements from other library and education organizations, and in seeking support from Representatives and Senators for this proposal. Contact the ALA Washington Office concerning organization endorsement. *************************************************************************** ARTS AND HUMANITIES ENDOWMENT FUNDING PASSES THE HOUSE On June 23, during debate on the FY 1995 Interior Appropriations bill, Rep. Stearns (R-FL), offered an amendment to reduce the National Endowment for the Arts appropriations by 5 percent. Stearns said he had offered amendments to reduce funding for NEA for several years, and would like "to move the 5 percent down to almost zero." He cited the involvement of Sen. Byrd (D-WV), who had written to the NEA chairwoman, Jane Alexander, seeking her assurance that "projects are not funded, nor performances undertaken, which misuse taxpayer funding." For details, see May 23, _Congressional Record_, pp. H4894-H4904. Stearns used a recent performance at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis as an example of "almost tortured art, and this art is not something we want to endorse." After a contentious debate, the House agreed to a 2 percent reduction of the NEA appropriations. It had been anticipated that Stearns would offer an amendment to make a similar reduction in the appropriations of the National Endowment for the Humanities. However, Stearns did not offer such an amendment. NEH funding totaled $177,383,000 in H.R. 4602. The FY 1995 Interior Appropriations bill, H.R. 4602, passed by a vote of 338-85. Within a few days, Senate action is expected to involve similar debate over the NEA appropriations. *************************************************************************** ORGANIZATION OF CONGRESS The Senate Committee on Rules and Administration approved a substitute version of S. 1824, the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1994 (S. Rept. 103-297), on June 9. Committee chairperson Sen. Ford (D-KY) introduced the new version of S. 1824 on July 1. In its substitute, the Senate Rules Committee dropped provisions of the original S. 1824 concerning the Government Printing Office, the Depository Library Program and the Joint Committee on Printing (see ALAWON Vol. 3 No. 5). Examples of provisions deleted include: permitting federal agencies to produce or procure any printing order valued at $1,500 or less; eliminating all joint committees; requiring the periodic authorization of the Library of Congress and the Government Printing Office; and imposing a "sunset" requirement for executive agency reports to Congress. Nevertheless, sec. 401 of the new S. 1824 requires the Senate Rules Committee, the Senate Committee on Appropriations, and the appropriate committees or task forces of the House of Representatives, to undertake a comprehensive review of the facilities and staffing of the legislative branch and the functions and activities of legislative branch entities. The study is to be completed within one year of the enactment of the bill. Sec. 402 requires that the appropriate congressional committees conduct annual oversight reviews of the congressional instrumentalities þ including the Library of Congress and Government Printing Office. In sum, the new version of S. 1824 makes five major changes to the original version of the bill. First, S. 1824 proposes a two-year budgeting process, while continuing annual appropriations. The Rules Committee considered biennial appropriations as well, but an amendment by Sen. Byrd (D-WV) during markup kept the annual appropriations process. Second, it includes a review of legislative branch streamlining without reference to specific staff reductions. Third, it deletes several recommendations affecting congressional instrumentalities, such as the eight-year periodic reauthorization cycle, in favor of annual oversight reviews. Fourth, the Committee modified the sunset requirement for executive agency reports by devising an alternative way to achieve the same objective. Finally, the revised bill adds a new title on Congressional Coverage, which extends civil rights and labor law protections to employment in the Senate. Various House committees have held hearings on H.R. 3801, the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1994 introduced by Rep. Hamilton (D-IN) in February. None of the committees have reported a bill as yet. *************************************************************************** *************************************************************************** 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. To find out what's available, send the message "send ala-wo filelist" to the listserv. The ALA-WO filelist contains the list of files with the exact filename and filetype. To get a particular file, issue the command "send filename filetype" to the listserv. Do not include the quotes in your commands. All materials in the newsletter subject to copyright by the American Library Association may be reprinted or redistributed for noncommercial purposes with appropriate credits. For other reprinting or redistribution, address requests to the ALA Washington Office (alawash@alawash.org). *************************************************************************** ***End of file******************End of file******************End of file***