================================================================= ALAWON Volume 5, Number 47 ISSN 1069-7799 July 25, 1996 American Library Association Washington Office Newsline In this issue: NONPROFIT LABELING PROVISION REACHES HOUSE-SENATE CONFERENCE ACTION NEEDED: ASK WELFARE CONFEREES TO DELETE NONPROFIT LABELING _________________________________________________________________ NONPROFIT LABELING PROVISION REACHES HOUSE-SENATE CONFERENCE The House and Senate are beginning the conference on their respective versions of welfare reform bills, H.R. 3734 and S. 1956. The outcome of the House-Senate conference is extremely important on the nonprofit labeling provision because the House bill contains the language, while the Senate bill does not. When the Senate passed their bill on July 23, the nonprofit labeling provision had been deleted on procedural grounds because it was not germane to the bill. The House bill was passed on July 18, and the final version contained a weakened version of the provision. There was no opportunity to vote on the nonprofit labeling provision before the overall bill's final passage. The nonprofit labeling provision (section 4112) reads: "Whenever an organization that accepts Federal funds under this title or the amendments made by this title (other than funds provided under title IV, XVI, or XX of the Social Security Act) makes any communications that in any way intends to promote public support or opposition to any policy of a Federal, State, or local government through any broadcasting station, newspaper, magazine, outdoor advertising facility, direct mailing, or any other type of general public advertising, such communication shall state the following: "This was prepared and paid for by an organization that accepts taxpayer dollars.'" The provision targets only nonprofits, not for-profit organizations. The bill's enforcement provision are severe. Any organization that makes any communication described in the above paragraph without including the required disclaimer becomes ineligible to receive federal funds under the bill. Even one inadvertent failure to include the disclaimer would invoke this penalty. ALA and other nonprofit organizations are concerned about this language on the welfare reform bill because: 1) This effort is part of a new, piecemeal approach to implementing previous initiatives by Representatives Ernest Istook (R-OK) and David McIntosh (R-IN) that would have a chilling effect on the ability of nonprofit organizations to engage in political advocacy. If this current attempt succeeds on the welfare reform bill, it could turn up on other bills that would more directly affect the library community. 2) It is unfair that these provisions would apply only to nonprofits receiving funds under the bill, not for-profits. 3) The enforcement provisions go too far, precluding any future federal funding for organizations that inadvertently fail to include the disclaimer even once. ACTION NEEDED: If your Senators are on the following list, please contact them and urge them not to include the House language in Section 4112 in the final conference report (i.e, the final version of H.R. 3734). It is particularly important to contact Republicans on the list, since it has been reported that they have been meeting in a pre-conference on the bill. The House conferees are not available yet. The Senate conferees on the welfare reform bill are: Bill Bradley (D-NJ) John Chafee (R-RI) Thad Cochran (R-MS) Christopher Dodd (D-CT) Pete Domenici (R-NM) James Exon (D-NE) Phil Gramm (R-TX) Charles Grassley (R-IA) Tom Harkin (D-IA) Orrin Hatch (R-UT) Howell Heflin (D-AL) Jesse Helms (R-NC) Ernest Hollings (D-SC) Nancy Kassebaum (R-KS) Patrick Leahy (D-VT) Richard Lugar (R-IN) Daniel Patrick Moynihan (D-NY) Don Nickles (R-OK) David Pryor (D-AR) John Rockefeller (D-WV) William Roth (R-DE) Rick Santorum (R-PA) Alan Simpson(R-WY) _________________________________________________________________ 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: All materials subject to copyright by the American Library Association may be reprinted or redistributed for noncommercial purposes with appropriate credits. =================================================================