================================================================= ALAWON Volume 5, Number 59 ISSN 1069-7799 September 16, 1996 American Library Association Washington Office Newsline In this issue: (60 lines) TIIAP UPDATE: KERREY/DORGAN AMENDMENT TO RESTORE FUNDING: ACTION ALERT _________________________________________________________________ TIIAP UPDATE: KERREY/DORGAN AMENDMENT TO RESTORE FUNDING: ACTION ALERT Senators Robert Kerrey (D-NE) and Byron Dorgan (D-ND) plan to offer an amendment to restore funding for the Telecommunications Information Infrastructure Assistance Program (TIIAP) to the FY'96 level of $21 million. The Senate currently has TIIAP funded at $4 million. The amendment could be offered to the Commerce, Justice, State FY'97 appropriations (H.R. 3814) by the end of this week. TIIAP, administered by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) in the U.S. Department of Commerce, was created to promote the development and widespread availability of advanced telecommunications and information technologies to serve the public interest. In the last two annual rounds, TIIAP has provided 209 grants to non-profit and public service organizations totaling over $160 million to benefit underserved communities throughout the United States. 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: TIIAP applicants and all interested in this valuable stimulus program should contact their Senators and urge them to co-sponsor or support the Kerrey/Dorgan amendment to restore $17 million in FY 97 TIIAP funding. Supporters of TIIAP are encouraged to invite their Senators to the 1996 TIIAP awards program at the Department of Commerce this Thursday, September 19 at 11:00 a.m. to meet some of the TIIAP grantees and see the work that this modest grant program is able to accomplish. For more information about the awards ceremony contact Jim Wasilewski, Department of Commerce, 202-482-1551. _________________________________________________________________ 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 at gopher.ala.org; select Washington Office Newsline. Visit our Web site at . 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: Claudette W. Tennant Deirdre A. Herman All materials subject to copyright by the American Library Association may be reprinted or redistributed for noncommercial purposes with appropriate credits. =================================================================