================================================================= ALAWON Volume 6, Number 14 ISSN 1069-7799 March 7, 1997 American Library Association Washington Office Newsline In this issue: (113 lines) URGENT ACTION ALERT: MARCH 12 SENATE COMMERCE HEARING - MESSAGE: KEEP TELECOM. DISCOUNTS FOR LIBRARIES & SCHOOLS _________________________________________________________________ URGENT ACTION ALERT: MARCH 12 SENATE COMMERCE HEARING - MESSAGE: KEEP TELECOM. DISCOUNTS FOR LIBRARIES & SCHOOLS This URGENT ACTION is needed before March 12th when the Senate Commerce Committee will conduct an oversight hearing on the universal service provisions of the Telecommunications Act of 1996. The provision authorizing discounted telecommunicaitons rates for libraries and schools will be under scrutiny at this hearing. THE MESSAGE FROM LIBRARY SUPPORTERS TO CONGRESS: "Library users, students and lifelong learners are ready and grateful. We can't wait for universal service to make telecommunications affordable for our libraries." All senators and representatives, especially the Senate Commerce Committee (see below), need to hear from the library community about how the telecommunications discount provision for libraries and schools, originally the Snowe-Rockefeller-Kerrey-Exon amendment(SRKE), will benefit the American public. Tell Congress that: 1) library users and advocates THANK CONGRESS for their vision in including the discount provision in the Telecommunications Act of 1996; 2)LIBRARIES ARE READY to use telecommunications discounts to benefit all students and lifelong learners; and 3) the library community is COUNTING ON CONGRESS & THE FCC to effectively implement the discounts as part of the FCC's universal service policies. We want Congress to maintain their support for the discount provision because affordable telecommunications for libraries and school gives our children, our communities, and our states a level playing field to use the information resources of the 21st century. Describe the needs in your community, library and/or school to provide a level playing field for all learners. Emphasize that libraries and schools are reading to serve as the vehicles for universal service to advanced telecommunications in all communities. Ask your senators and representatives to support the Joint Board's recommendations including the 20-90% discounts and their applications to all telecom. services. The library community is counting on the FCC to endorse these recommendations and effectively implement the discounts for the 1997-98 school year. Ask them to write to the FCC and urge the Commission to approve the Joint Board's recommendations. ALL congressional offices should be contacted during this critical period. It is especially important to contact members of the Senate Commerce Committee who are conducting the March 12th hearing: SENATE COMMERCE, SCIENCE & TRANSPORTATION Senate switchboard number: 202-224-3121 AK-R Ted Stevens AZ-R John McCain, Chairman HI-D Daniel K. Inouye KS-R Sam Brownback KY-D Wendell H. Ford LA-D John B. Breaux MA-D John F. Kerry ME-R Olympia J. Snowe MI-R Spencer Abraham MO-R John Ashcroft MS-R Trent Lott MT-R Conrad Burns ND-D Byron L. Dorgan NV-D Richard H. Bryan OR-D Ron Wyden SC-D Ernest F. Hollings, Ranking Minority TN-R Bill Frist TX-R Kay Bailey Hutchison WA-R Slade Gorton WV-D John D. Rockefeller, IV Further background material is available on the ALA Web site at: http://www.alawash.org _________________________________________________________________ ALAWON is a free, irregular publication of the American Library Association Washington Office. To subscribe, send the message: subscribe ala-wo [your_firstname] [your_lastname] to listproc @ala.org. ALAWON archives at http://www.ala.org/washoff/alawon. Visit our Web site at http://www.alawash.org. ALA Washington Office 202.628.8410 (V) 1301 Pennsylvania Ave., NW, #403 202.628.8419 (F) Washington, DC 20004-1701 800.941.8478 (V) Lynne E. Bradley, Editor Deirdre Herman, Managing Editor All materials subject to copyright by the American Library Association may be reprinted or redistributed for noncommercial purposes with appropriate credits. =================================================================