****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 71 July 27, 1995 In this issue: (121 lines) HOUSE RULES COMMITTEE DELAYS DECISION ON TELECOM. BILL, HR 1555 POSTAL RATE COMMISSION CONFIRMS LIBRARY RATE IS OVERSTATED ***************************************************************** HOUSE RULES COMMITTEE DELAYS DECISION ON TELECOM. BILL, HR 1555 The House Rules Committee did not schedule time to adopt rules for the House to address HR 1555, the Communications Act of 1995. Nor is it expected that they will deal with the issue this week. In one of those "hurry up and wait" situations, ALA and other education supporters had been advised that the Committee would act this week. The latest speculation is that it may come to the Rules Committee on Tuesday, August 1. Some observers predict that action on HR 1555 will be delayed until after the summer recess. Reps. Constance Morella (R-MD) and William Orton (D-UT) are prepared to introduce an amendment that would add in language including "affordable" and "public libraries" to the Section 246 (b) (5) on universal service. (see previous ALAWON, Vol. 4, No. 70 for details.) In order for Reps. Morella and Orton to proceed with their amendment on the House floor, the House Rules Committee must adopt procedures to allow its introduction during floor debate. The situation remains "fluid" and library supporters should continue to press the Rules Committee and any other Congressional library champions to support procedures that would allow the Morella-Orton amendment to be introduced on HR 1555. ACTION NEEDED: Please continue to contact the House Rules Committee to ask them to approve rules that would allow a library-related amendment to be introduced. Supporters should also ask other congressional representatives to write letters to the Rules Committee asking for consideration of the Morella-Orton amendment AND to support the amendment if and when it comes to the floor during debate on HR 1555. An updated list of the members of the House Rules Committee with available fax and email information follows: House Rules Committee ST Representative (Party) Phone Fax E-Mail == ========================== ======== ======== ============ Chairman Area Code 202 @hr.house.gov NY Solomon, Gerald B. (R) 225-5614 225-6234 CA Beilenson, Anthony (D) 225-5911 225-0092 CA Dreier, David (R) 225-2305 225-7018 CO McInnis, Scott (R) 225-4761 226-0622 FL Diaz-Balart, Lincoln (R) 225-4211 225-8576 FL Goss, Porter J. (R) 225-2536 225-6820 GA Linder, John (R) 225-4272 225-4696 jlinder MA Moakley, John Joseph (D) 225-8273 225-3984 jmoakley OH Hall, Tony P. (D) 225-6465 225-6766 OH Pryce, Deborah (R) 225-2015 226-0986 TN Quillen, James H. (R) 225-6356 225-7812 TX Frost, Martin (D) 225-3605 225-4951 frost UT Waldholtz, Enid (R) 225-3011 225-3491 enidutah All e-mail addresses end with suffix at top of e-mail column. ***************************************************************** POSTAL RATE COMMISSION CONFIRMS LIBRARY RATE IS OVERSTATED On June 30, Edward Gleiman, Chairman of the Postal Rate Commission, wrote to J. Sam Winters, Chairman of the Board of Governors, United States Postal Service, concerning an apparent overstatement of nearly 11 percent in the Postal Service's cost data for the library rate. Chairman Gleiman's inquiry is fallout from the 1994 postal rate case, which led to a 69.9 percent increase in the library rate on January 1, 1995. ALA argued during the case that the proposed increase was based on inflated Postal Service cost data. The Commission accepted the data, however, and approved nearly the full increase requested. The rate increase has had a devastating impact on library books-by-mail services, interlibrary loan book delivery, and delivery of books specifically requested by library patrons. Cutbacks in these library services fall hardest on those who live far from a local library, those who need materials from a library in another county or state, and those who are homebound or institutionalized. Chairman Gleiman's renewed attention to the issue was prompted by the recent release of Postal Service data (the USPS Cost and Revenue Analysis, Fiscal Year 1994) showing that actual costs for library rate mail in FY94 were 10.83 percent lower for an average piece of library rate mail than the Postal Service had estimated during the rate case. "It appears the estimated costs were overstated," Gleiman concluded. "Action by the Governors to propose correcting the library rate appears warranted." Chairman Gleiman shared his letter with the ALA Washington Office, and Executive Director Carol Henderson has asked for a copy of any reply from the Postal Service. The ALA Washington Office will alert members to any further developments, including any that warrant grassroots action. PHASING AFFECTS RATE. Nonprofit postal rate increases due to the Revenue Forgone Reform Act are phased in over several steps. In October of this year, Step 3 takes effect, with Step 4 effective a year later. For the fourth-class library rate, only packages weighing over 7 pounds are affected: Library Rate Step 2 Step 3 Step 4 Current 10/1/95 10/1/96 First pound $1.12 $1.12 $1.12 Each addit. lb. through 7 lbs. $ .41 $ .41 $ .41 Each addit. lb. over 7 lbs. $ .20 $ .21 $ .22 ********************************************************************************************************************************** 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: Carol C. Henderson; 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. To find out what's available, send the message "send ala-wo filelist" to the listserv. The ALA-WO filelist contains the list of files with the exact filename and filetype. To get a particular file, issue the command "send filename filetype" to the listserv. Do not include the quotes in your commands. All materials in the newsletter subject to copyright by the American Library Association may be reprinted or redistributed for noncommercial purposes with appropriate credits. For other reprinting or redistribution, address requests to the ALA Washington Office (alawash@alawash.org). ***************************************************************** ***End of file*************End of file*************End of file***