================================================================= ALAWON Volume 5, Number 48 ISSN 1069-7799 July 31, 1996 American Library Association Washington Office Newsline In this issue: HOUSE TO CONSIDER ENGLISH AS OFFICIAL LANGUAGE BILL SENATE SUBCOMMITTEE DEFUNDS TIIAP _________________________________________________________________ HOUSE TO CONSIDER ENGLISH AS OFFICIAL LANGUAGE BILL The House of Representatives is scheduled to take up H.R. 123, Language of Government Act, on August 1. The bill would make English the official language of the United States Government and would require most federal government documents to be printed in English. The legislation would affect many government activities, including congressional communications, the printing of tax forms and dissemination of information about Social Security. The bill would not reduce government involvement in bilingual education or prohibit federal employees from speaking other languages as part of their job. Federal agencies could use other languages in certain cases to protect public health and safety, provide for national security, or protect the rights of crime victims or criminal defendants. Proponents of the bill maintain that establishing English as the official U.S. language would persuade non-English speakers to learn the language, and would save the government money. Opponents said the bill would do nothing to help non-English speakers learn the language and would prevent many people from understanding their government. The Senate Government Affairs Committee is expected to mark up a similar bill, S. 356, soon. ALA has been part of a coalition opposing the House and Senate official English bills. A coalition information packet sent to all Representatives on July 31 included a letter from ALA President Mary Somerville urging them not to support any bill that would establish English as the official language of government. She said: "The Association strongly opposes all laws, legislation and regulations relating to language which have the effect of restricting or abridging pluralism and diversity in library collections and services. We believe that the "Language of Government Act of 1995" (H.R. 123), could exert a chilling effect on the rights of citizens who speak and read languages other than English to inform themselves, to vote and to participate fully in the cultural and political life of the United States." ACTION NEEDED: Those concerned with this issue should immediately contact their Representative and urge her or him to vote against H.R. 123, the Language of Government Act of 1995. _________________________________________________________________ SENATE SUBCOMMITTEE DEFUNDS TIIAP Yesterday, Tuesday, July 30, Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, State and the Judiciary zeroed out FY 97 funding for NTIA's Telecommunications and Information Infrastructure Assistance Program (TIIAP.) The full Appropriations Committee will mark up the bill, H.R. 3814, appropriations for Commerce, Justice, State and the Judiciary tomorrow, August 1, at 2:00. Senator Kerrey (D-NE) plans to introduce an amendment at the full committee mark up to restore funding for TIIAP. The House FY 97 appropriations bill funds TIIAP at the FY 96 level, $21.5 million. TIIAP has provided 209 grants to nonprofit and public service organizations totaling over $160 million in project funding. Several of these grants have been used by libraries and schools directly or through coalitions for community networking, education, and extending library services. ACTION NEEDED: Contact members of the Senate Appropriations Committee listed below and ask for their support of a Kerrey amendment to restore TIIAP funds. AK-R Ted Stevens NH-R Judd Gregg AL-R Richard C. Shelby NJ-D Frank R. Lautenberg AR-D Dale L. Bumpers NM-R Pete V. Domenici CO-R Ben Nighthorse Campbell NV-D Harry M. Reid FL-R Connie Mack OR-R Mark O. Hatfield (chr.) HI-D Daniel K. Inouye PA-R Arlen Specter IA-D Tom Harkin SC-D Ernest F. Hollings KY-R Mitch McConnell UT-R Robert F. Bennett LA-D J. Bennett Johnston VT-D Patrick J. Leahy MD-D Barbara A. Mikulski VT-R James M. Jeffords MO-R Christopher S. Bond WA-R Slade Gorton MT-R Conrad Burns WA-D Patty Murray NE-D Bob Kerrey WI-D Herb Kohl WV-D Robert C. Byrd (rmm.) _________________________________________________________________ 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: Anne A. Heanue and Claudette W. Tennant All materials subject to copyright by the American Library Association may be reprinted or redistributed for noncommercial purposes with appropriate credits. =================================================================