****Begin File******************Begin File*******************Begin File**** *************************************************************************** ISSN 1069-7799 ALAWON ALA Washington Office Newsline An electronic publication of the American Library Association Washington Office Volume 4, Number 20 March 9, 1995 In this issue: (194 lines) ALA JOINS COALITION TO ADDRESS SENATOR EXON'S COMMUNICATIONS DECENCY ACT OF 1995 - ACTION NEEDED TWO DISCUSSION DRAFTS OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS BILLS RELEASED BY SENATORS PRESSLER AND HOLLINGS - ACTION NEEDED VICE PRESIDENT GORE AND SECRETARY OF EDUCATION RILEY ANNOUNCE TECHNOLOGY GRANTS *************************************************************************** ALA JOINS COALITION TO ADDRESS SEN. EXON'S COMMUNICATIONS DECENCY ACT OF 1995 - ACTION NEEDED ALA has signed a joint letter with the "Interactive Working Group", a new coalition of public interest organizations, members of the computer and communications industry, and several other library and journalism associations concerned about the First Amendment threats in S. 314. The coalition was convened by the Center for Democracy and Technology. In the joint letter, the coalition expresses serious concerns about S. 314, the Communications Decency Act of 1995. The coalition has asked Senators Pressler (R-SD) and Exon (D-NE) not to incorporate S. 314 into Senate telecommunications reform legislation which is expected to be introduced later this month. As introduced by Senator Exon, S. 314 would expand current law restricting indecency and harassment of telephone services to all telecommunications providers and expand criminal liability to all content carried by all forms of telecommunications networks. (See an earlier report in ALAWON, Vol. 4, No. 10, February 15.) It is argued that the Exon bill could gravely reduce or even cutoff access to email, discussion lists, usenets and other services. The bill could also force providers to closely monitor and pre-screen electronic mail or even refuse to transmit any message or other content which may be considered to be indecent. The bill poses a significant threat to freedom of speech and the free flow of information in cyberspace. It also raises fundamental questions about the right of government to control content on communications networks, as well as the locus of liability for content carried in these new media. The March 2 coalition letter reads in part: Developing means for detecting and holding wrong-doers responsible for illegal activity, and permitting parents to control access by their children to adult material while still preserving our constitutional liberties, are important goals shared by many in our society. However, the choice of methods for achieving these goals raises serious free speech and censorship problems. Our commitment is to work with you and your colleagues to resolve these issues in ways which will enable individual and parental choice, without impairing the free flow of information or stifling development of emerging technology through bureaucratic regulation. ACTION NEEDED: Please contact Senators Pressler and Exon as well as other members of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Ask them to remove S. 314 from its "fast track" so that the First Amendment and free speech questions can be addressed. Other senators on the committee include: Packwood (R-OR), Stevens (R-AL), McCain (R-AZ), Burns (R-MT), Gorton (R-WA), Lott (R-MS), Hutchison (R-TX), Snowe (R-ME), Ashcroft (R-MO), Hollings (D-SC), Inouye (D-HI), Ford (D-KY), Rockefeller (D-WV), Kerry, (D-MA), Breaux (D-LA), Bryan (D-NV), Dorgan (D-ND). *************************************************************************** TWO DISCUSSION DRAFTS OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS BILLS RELEASED BY SENATORS PRESSLER AND HOLLINGS - ACTION NEEDED Senator Larry Pressler (R-SD) and Senator Ernest Hollings (D-SC) each have initiated "discussion drafts" of telecommunications bills to update the Communications Act of 1934. Neither draft has been officially filed although discussion copies are circulating. Both draft bills promote de- regulation and widespread competition. The Pressler draft is intended to "accelerate...private sector deployment of advanced telecommunications and information technologies and services." Rural and urban areas would have "comparable" rates and all rates should be "affordable." Carriers of last resort would be eligible for universal service support payments. Pressler's draft bill would also provide for establishment of a "Federal- State Joint Board...to develop rules for universal service" but there is no provision for incremental-cost based rates for libraries, schools or community/nonprofit users. It was provisions for incremental-cost based rates and universal service requirements that ALA and others had strongly supported in S. 1822, the telecommunications bill that never made it to the Senate floor in the last Congress. The Hollings draft is similar to last year's S. 1822 although it weakens the provisions for universal service and incremental-cost based rates. Schools and libraries are still considered community telecommunications users. The draft promotes the concept of universal service by requiring all telecommunications providers to contribute to universal service funds. However, subsides for universal service are "explicit and targeted to those who most need the subsidy." The new Hollings draft defines "community users" as elementary and secondary schools, libraries, health care facilities, local public broadcasting and "any class of community users that contribute to public safety, education and knowledge." All telecommunications carriers, "upon bona fide request, would have to provide universal service at rates not higher than the incremental cost to such public or non-profit community telecommunications users." Hollings limits rates for interexchange telecommunications services in rural and high-cost areas to "levels no higher than...those in urban areas." These draft bills could be collapsed into one bill and move forward quickly. Watch ALAWON and the next issue of this newsletter for the status of this critical legislation. Library supporters working on this issue should work to strengthen provisions for universal service and incremental- cost based rates. Libraries should always be advocated as a type of community telecommunications users eligible for the incremental rates. ACTION NEEDED: Please contact Senator Pressler (R-SD), as chair of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation as well as other members of the committee and emphasize the important public service role of libraries, both as providers and users of telecommunications services. Emphasize that universal service and incremental-cost based rates for libraries are important provisions to any telecommunications legislation. (see above report on S. 314 for a list of the senators on this committee.) Watch upcoming issues of ALAWON for updates on this critical legislation. *************************************************************************** VICE PRESIDENT GORE AND SECRETARY OF EDUCATION RILEY ANNOUNCE TECHNOLOGY GRANTS Vice President Al Gore and Secretary of Education Richard Riley jointly announced the beginning of the new Technology in Education Challenge Grants on March 7, 1995. The announcement took place at a ceremony in a model elementary school in Montgomery County, Maryland, Forest Knowles Elementary, where technology is completely integrated into the classroom. Students demonstrated the type of learning atmosphere that Vice President Gore and Secretary Riley envision for classrooms across the nation. Secretary Riley said that the goal of the program was for "every classroom in America to be online by 2000 or 2001." He strongly emphasized that the Information Superhighway can not be a service to only a portion of the nation's population. Vice President Gore emphasized the partnerships that must exist between public and private sectors of the community in order for grant money to be received. Gore held up the Forest Knowles students as examples of the results of technology in the classroom, "students who are not afraid to take risks, who are empowered, who are ready to learn." Libraries are specifically included in the suggested list of consortia members for a community, and, as was demonstrated at Forest Knowles, school libraries can play a large role in the Technology Learning Challenge. Letters of intent must be submitted no later than April 4, 1995 and the application deadline is June 2, 1995. For more information or for an application call 1-800-USA-LEARN. The grant information and application are also available on the Internet by visiting the Department of Education's WWW site at URL http://www.ed.gov or use Gopher at GOPHER.ED.GOV. *************************************************************************** *************************************************************************** ALAWON (ISSN 1069-7799) is an irregular publication of the American Library Association Washington Office, 110 Maryland Avenue, N.E., Washington, DC 20002-5675. Internet: alawash@alawash.org; Phone: 202-547-4440; Fax: 202-547-7363. Contributing to this issue: Claudette W. Tennant; Editor: Lynne E. Bradley (leb@alawash.org). ALAWON is available free of charge and is available only in electronic form. To subscribe, send the message "subscribe ala-wo [your name]" to listserv@uicvm (Bitnet) or listserv@uicvm.uic.edu (Internet). Back issues and other documents are available from the list server. 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