ALAWON: American Library Association Washington Office Newsline Volume 13, Number 89 2004 In This Issue: E-rate Frozen Since August 3rd Contact your Congressional senators and representatives immediately and ask them to address this problem during the final days of the 108th Congress to get the needed E-rate funds to our schools and libraries. UPDATE: Although a trickle of E-Rate funds is about to start, this is inadequate and does not fix the problem for thousands of libraries still waiting for commitment letters. A recent decision by the FCC to require the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC), which administers the E-rate program, to conform to the Government GAAP accounting standards has caused great problems for schools and libraries involved in the program. Most distressingly, a decision stating that E-rate Funding Commitment Decision Letters (FDCLs) count as obligations means that no commitments have been made to E-rate recipients since August 2004. The discounts that E-rate provides on telecommunications are essential for providing top-quality library service to all Americans and to close the digital divide. The E-rate program, already capped at $2.25 billion, has not met the needs of the nation's schools and libraries since its very first year. Library applicants recognize that USF E-rate discounts are necessary to provide sustainable and affordable access to telecommunications and Internet services for K-12 schools and public libraries that serve the poorest and most needy communities. Some E-rate funds reportedly are flowing, but although your library may have received a commitment letter this year, thousands of libraries have not yet received letters. Further, even if your library received funds this year there is no guarantee that your library's funding will not be delayed next year if this problem continues. Contact your Congressional senators and representatives immediately and ask them to address this problem during the final days of the 108th Congress to get the needed E-rate funds to our schools and libraries. ****** Remember: You Can Call Any MEMBER OF CONGRESS Toll-Free: 1-800-839-5276 Or identify and send your Member of Congress a letter through the legislative action center at: ****** ALAWON (ISSN 1069-7799) is a free, irregular publication of the American Library Association Washington Office. All materials subject to copyright by the American Library Association may be reprinted or redistributed for noncommercial purposes with appropriate credits. To subscribe to ALAWON, send the message: subscribe ala-wo [your_firstname] [your_lastname] to listproc@ala.org or go to http://www.ala.org/washoff/alawon. To unsubscribe to ALAWON, send the message: unsubscribe ala-wo to listproc@ala.org. ALAWON archives at http://www.ala.org/washoff/alawon. ALA Washington Office, 1301 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W., Suite 403, Washington, D.C. 20004-1701; phone: 202.628.8410 or 800.941.8478 toll-free; fax: 202.628.8419; e-mail: alawash@alawash.org; Web site: http://www.ala.org/washoff. Executive Director: Emily Sheketoff. Office of Government Relations: Lynne Bradley, Director; Carol Ashworth, Don Essex, Joshua Farrelman, Erin Haggerty, Patrice McDermott and Miriam Nisbet. Office for Information Technology Policy: Rick Weingarten, Director; Carrie Lowe, Kathy Mitchell, Carrie Russell. ALAWON Editor: Bernadette Murphy.