================================================================= ALAWON Volume 5, Number 45 ISSN 1069-7799 July 19, 1996 American Library Association Washington Office Newsline In this issue: CONFEREES APPROVE CAREERS ACT; H.R. 1617 MAY STILL NOT PASS _________________________________________________________________ CONFEREES APPROVE CAREERS ACT; H.R. 1617 MAY STILL NOT PASS SITUATION ON H.R. 1617. The House-Senate conference committee on H.R. 1617, the CAREERS Act bill in which the Library Services and Technology Act resides, met on July 17 and agreed (but without Democratic support) to a conference version of the legislation. The conference was described by one observer as an extended funeral with many positive eulogies for effort and regret for impasse. The betting is that it will never come to the floor in the Senate, which would apparently take up the conference agreement first. The Democrats have threatened a filibuster; and both the Secretaries of Education and Labor have recommended a Presidential veto. It is unlikely that the Senate leadership would allow floor debate on a vehicle that could potentially use up so much floor time, with so little likely result, when so little time remains in this election year session. WHAT ABOUT LSTA? The Library Services and Technology Act piece, plus the museum grant program, and their combined administration in an Institute of Museum and Library Services, is part of the conference agreement on H.R. 1617. This portion of the bill does have bipartisan agreement. Conferees feel that the House-Senate compromise in this area is a better program than either the House or Senate passed versions. They support it and there is some interest in finding a way to send it forward separately or on another vehicle. However, apparently Senator Nancy Kassebaum (R-KS), the sponsor of the Senate version of the bill, feels that this "dead mouse," as some have called the whole bill, is "still wiggling." She is such a key player and such a supporter of LSTA that any effort to move it separately must wait until she is ready to consider it The actual conference report has not been issued yet, but the text of the library and museum portion of the conference agreement shows no surprises from the oral summaries by congressional staff that have previously been reported in ALAWON. The ALA Washington Office will prepare a summary of the LSTA conference agreement as we analyze it further. Expect further calls to action as we determine what's possible in this late and final stage of reauthorization of LSCA as the Library Services and Technology Act. _________________________________________________________________ ALAWON is a free, irregular publication of the American Library Association Washington Office. To subscribe, send the message "subscribe ala-wo [your_firstname] [your_lastname]" to . ALAWON archives gopher.ala.org; select Washington Office Newsline. Web page HTTP://www.ala.org/alawashington.html. ALA Washington Office 202.628.8410 (V) 1301 Pennsylvania Ave., NW, #403 202.628.8419 (F) Washington, DC 20004-1701 Lynne E. Bradley, Editor Contributors: Carol C. Henderson All materials subject to copyright by the American Library Association may be reprinted or redistributed for noncommercial purposes with appropriate credits. =================================================================