ALAWON: American Library Association Washington Office Newsline Volume 15, Number 65 Date: June 21, 2006 In This Issue: URGENT ACTION NEEDED on S. 2686 - Contact the Senate Commerce Committee and Tell Them to Put the Public Back in the Telecommunications Debate! IMMEDIATE ACTION NEEDED: All library supporters should contact members of the Senate Commerce Committee and urge them to put the public interest back in S. 2686 during the bill's pending markup. The Senate Commerce Committee is still scheduled to start the markup discussions on Thursday morning, June 22. Even if this date slips (which has not happened as of this ALAWON), the latest draft of S. 2686 as well as certain amendments by Senators Ensign and Sununu do not protect the E-rate. Also, network neutrality is still not adequately addressed. MESSAGE: PROTECT THE E-RATE & UNIVERSAL SERVICE - Do not threaten a successful program that makes telecommunications services, in many cases advanced broadband services, available to the public through their public libraries and K-12 public and private schools. Thank you for the USF exemption from Anti-Deficiency Act accounting rules. - Do not support the Ensign & Sununu amendments, which will slowly kill the E-rate program and threaten all universal service programs. ASSURE NETWORK NEUTRALITY - Do not let big telephone companies decide what the public can access on the Internet. - Pass Snowe-Dorgan amendment (equivalent of S. 2917). FURTHER TALKING POINTS: Universal Service and the E-rate: * The library community applauds S. 2686 supporters' efforts to stabilize the Universal Service Fund and for exempting USF programs from Anti-Deficiency Act accounting requirements. * The E-rate program is working by making telecommunications services affordable to libraries and schools in the poorest communities. * Communities benefit by having Internet access at their libraries, especially in those high-poverty areas that receive the deepest discounts and need the E-rate to support the ongoing costs of connectivity. * The E-rate is providing stable and predictable support for the ongoing costs of connectivity. * The program promotes the build-out of broadband services and establishes new markets for telecommunications providers. * The education and training done by libraries and others raises new demands and public expectations that help create new consumers of broadband services and benefits. Network Neutrality: * The library community supports a proactive approach to preserving diverse sources of information on the Internet by passing enforceable network neutrality language. * Libraries of all types are providers, creators and users of digital information and serve users with on-site Internet access in libraries and remote access to online catalogs and collections. * Libraries' ability to provide services to our communities could be at risk in a tiered Internet environment. * Libraries, K-12 and higher education and many other public sector institutions should not be marginalized or moved into slower tiers in favor of corporate content providers, not should the owners of the pipelines be allowed to make such content decisions. * It is too risky not to pass affirmative language at this time especially since there has been little attention paid to the public sector implications. Members of Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee: Chairman Ted Stevens (AK) John McCain (AZ) Conrad Burns (MT) Trent Lott (MS) Kay Bailey Hutchison (TX) Olympia J. Snowe (ME) Gordon H. Smith (OR) John Ensign (NV) George Allen (VA) John E. Sununu (NH) Jim DeMint (SC) David Vitter (LA) Co-Chairman Daniel K. Inouye (HI) John D. Rockefeller (WV) John F. Kerry (MA) Byron L. Dorgan (ND) Barbara Boxer (CA) Bill Nelson (FL) Maria Cantwell (WA) Frank R. Lautenberg (NJ) E. Benjamin Nelson (NE) Mark Pryor (AR) The Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee can be reached by phone at 202-224-5115. Thank you in advance for your efforts in support of E-rate and net neutrality. Stay tuned for updates on these important issues under rapidly changing circumstances on the Hill. ****** ALAWON (ISSN 1069-7799) is a free, irregular publication of the American Library Association Washington Office. 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