ALAWON: American Library Association Washington Office Newsline Volume 13, Number 97 November 23, 2004 In This Issue: Urge the Senate to Pass HR 5419 to Restore the E-rate! Background: As you know, E-rate funds have been frozen since August 2004, but there is a chance to get the funds flowing again if the Senate passes HR 5419 (and a companion bill HR 5420), which would exempt schools and libraries from the Antideficiency Act. According to Hill staffers and colleagues in ALA's coalitions, the House passed a telecommunications package as HR 5419 on Saturday that included language exempting schools and libraries from the Antideficiency Act for a period of time. The bill also provides for reallocation from governmental to commercial users, and an E-911 bill to enhance homeland security and public safety. Both HR 5419 and HR 5420 must pass in the Senate in order for libraries to get the exemption. Regrettably, the Senate did not pass legislation containing a similar exemption of the Universal Service System from the Antideficiency Act, because elements of the Senate Appropriations Committee objected to the House bill over jurisdictional concerns about the spectrum relocation trust fund. However, there is still hope that the Senate will pass HR 5419. Contact your Senators today to urge them to pass HR 5419 in the Senate. The Senate might revisit the Anti Deficiency Act issue again when it returns for two days in December to work on the intelligence reform bill, but there is no guarantee that Congress will consider the exemption issue at that time. Although a trickle of e-rate funds may start soon, this is wholly inadequate and does not fix the problem for thousands of libraries still waiting for commitment letters. Therefore, it is critical that you contact your Senators immediately to urge them to pass HR 5419. You can email your Senators using ALA's Legislative Action Center located at For updates on the E-rate and related issues visit our website at. Look for future updates on this important issue. ****** Remember: You Can Call Any MEMBER OF CONGRESS Toll-Free: 1-800-839-5276 ****** 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.