****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 43 August 23, 1994 In this issue: (176 lines) LIBRARY FUNDING - ACTION NEEDED UPDATE *************************************************************************** LIBRARY FUNDING - ACTION NEEDED UPDATE It appears likely that the House and Senate Conference Committee on H.R. 4606, the Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Appropriations bill, will not meet to discuss differences in their versions of the bill until after the Labor Day holiday. There is still time for library supporters to make contact with legislators, so we are reposting the article about the appropriations bill, with an updated action notice. The Senate reported its version of H.R. 4606, the Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Appropriations Bill for FY95, on August 10 by a vote of 87-13. The Senate total for Department of Education library programs is $147,558,000--$1.2 million higher than FY94 funding, and considerably above the House-passed $117,486,000 and the Administration's request of $102,976,000. In addition, the Senate included $50 million for the new title III educational technology program in the Elementary and Secondary Education Act; the House figure is $20 million. The Senate-passed version of H.R. 6, the ESEA reauthorization bill, provides that 10 to 20 percent of educational technology funding would be set aside for school library resources. FY 1995 Library Program Appropriations (amounts in thousands) Program FY94 FY95 Admin. FY95 House FY95 Senate Appropriation Request Passed Passed Library Services & Construction Act $ 128,866 $ 102,976 $ 111,080 $ 134,372 I pub. lib. services 83,227 83,227 83,482 83,227 II library construction 17,792 0 0 17,792 III, interlib. cooperation 19,749 19,749 19,572 25,327 IV, Indian lib. service 2 % of LSCA I, II, and III V, foreign lang. materials 0 0 0 0 VI, library literacy progs. 8,098 0 8,026 8,026 Higher Education Act $ 17,443 $ 0 $ 6,416 $ 13,186 II-A, college lib. tech. & cooperation 3,873 0 0 0 II-B, library education 4,960 0 4,916 4,916 II-B, library research & demonstrations 2,802 0 0 8,270 II-C, research library resources 5,808 0 0 0 II-D, HBCU library & info. science 0 0 1,500 0 TOTAL $ 146,309 $ 102,976 $ 117,496 $ 147,558 Elementary & Secondary Education Act III, educational technology NA $ 50,000 $ 20,000 $ 50,000 The House passed H.R. 4606 on June 29, and in two cases the House amount is higher. The House included $1.5 million in first-time funding for the Higher Education Act title II-D, the historically black colleges and universities library and information science program. An amendment offered by Rep. Bill Baker (R-CA) added $1 million to the Library Services and Construction Act title I, bringing the total for that program a little above the FY94 level. For several programs, the Senate level is substantially higher. The Senate restored current level funding for LSCA II, public library construction and technology enhancement. The Senate added $5,578,000 to LSCA title III, interlibrary cooperation, for states to establish electronic library gateways for access to public, academic, and research library collections. The HEA II-B, library research and demonstrations program, was increased by $5,468,000, of which $3,994,000 is for demonstration projects involving the digitization of research library collections and the development of related organizational tools for access to these digital resources. Both House and Senate were under pressure to zero out programs targeted for elimination by the Administration in its "reinventing government" report. However, the Senate managed to keep the total for libraries intact by "reinventing" through the appropriations process the two programs it agreed with the House to eliminate--the HEA II-A college library technology program and the II-C research library program. These funds were moved to the LSCA III and HEA II-B programs for new but related purposes. The next step will be a House-Senate conference to work out the differences between the two versions of H.R. 4606. Conferees are members of the House and Senate Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Appropriations Subcommittees, and are expected to begin meeting after Labor Day. ACTION NEEDED: All health, social services, labor and training, and education programs will be competing for the limited funding available within H.R. 4606 during the conference process. Conferees are only likely to agree to the higher level for each library program if they hear a groundswell of support from library constituents regarding each program where House and Senate levels differ. ALA has written to each conferee regarding funding of LSCA, HEA, and ESEA library programs, but it is urgent that conferees hear from library constituents immediately. Millions of dollars are at stake in library funding that affects public, school, academic and research, and state libraries. The message: Urge House-Senate conferees on H.R. 4606 to agree to the higher of the Senate or House-passed levels for each library and educational technology program. Give examples of what one or more of these programs has done or could do in the legislator's state or district. If your Senator or Representative is not a conferee, ask your own legislator to convey your message to the Senate or House Labor-HHS- Education Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman--Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA) or Rep. Neal Smith (D-IA). (Attention, Iowa library supporters; Iowa is a key state!) The Capitol switchboard is 202-224-3121 for any Senate office; 202-225-3121 for any House office. Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education: Tom Harkin (D-IA), Chair; Robert Byrd (D-WV); Ernest Hollings (D-SC); Daniel Inouye (D-HI); Dale Bumpers (D-AR); Harry Reid (D-NV); Herb Kohl (D- WI); Patty Murray (D-WA); Arlen Specter (R-PA); Mark Hatfield (R-OR); Ted Stevens (R-AK); Thad Cochran (R-MS); Slade Gorton (R-WA); Connie Mack (R- FL); Christopher Bond (R-MO) House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education: Neal Smith (D-IA), Chair; David Obey (D-WI); Louis Stokes (D-OH); Steny Hoyer (D-MD); Nancy Pelosi (D-CA); Nita Lowey (D-NY); Jose Serrano (D-NY); Rosa DeLauro (D-CT); John Porter (R-IL); Bill Young (R-FL); Helen Bentley (R-MD); Henry Bonilla (R-TX). *************************************************************************** *************************************************************************** ALAWON (ISSN 1069-7799) is an irregular publication of the American Library Association Washington Office, 110 Maryland Avenue, N.E., Washington, DC 20002-5675. 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