================================================================= ALAWON Volume 6, Number 47 ISSN 1069-7799 June 20, 1997 American Library Association Washington Office Newsline In this issue: (112 lines) HOUSE SUBCOMMITTEE WILL ACT ON LIBRARY FUNDING JULY 8 -- ACTION NEEDED _________________________________________________________________ HOUSE SUBCOMMITTEE WILL ACT ON LIBRARY FUNDING JULY 8 -- ACTION NEEDED On July 8 a House funding subcommittee is scheduled to make recommendations on library, education, and related programs. This will be the first indication of whether it is likely that the Library Services and Technology Act will receive an increase, whether the school block grant that provides funding for library resources in some schools will be funded, and how other education programs will fare. ACTION NEEDED ON LSTA: No later than the week of June 23, it is crucial that follow-up contacts be made to Library Legislative Day visits to congressional offices. If your Representative seemed supportive of LSTA, call that office now and request that your Member contact the Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education to request $150 million for LSTA. This is the level Congress specified last fall in passing the Library Services and Technology Act. The President requested level funding in FY98 of $136.4 million, but explain how your state or library community would benefit from the full $150 million. If your Representative is a member of the subcommittee (see list below), contact the office to request that he or she contact Chairman John Porter (R-IL) to recommend $150 million for LSTA. What will enable the subcommittee to recommend a level higher than the Administration's request is specific interest or requests to the Chairman from other legislators, especially from another member of the subcommittee. Good will and general support won't do it; Representatives must speak up. They will respond if constituents press them to do so. Working papers in preparation for the July 8 session are being put together now, so this request is urgent! Thanks for your help! ACTION NEEDED ON ESEA TITLE VI: This program is Innovative Education Strategies, the former Chapter 2 block grant that all schools have received funding from annually for education reform and other purposes. The Department of Education has estimated that about 40% of the $310 million is used for library and instructional materials, but has requested no funds for fiscal year 1998. Congress has usually supported this program despite the Administration's lack of support, but there is an added hurdle this time. The budget agreement between Congress and the White House assumes no funding for this program. Thus, constituent requests to Representatives are extremely important right now. Contact your Representative to request that ESEA Title VI be funded at least at the FY97 level of $310 million. Explain what it may mean to your school's ability to acquire up to date resources for students. If constituents do not speak up, it's unlikely that this program will survive. If your Member is on the subcommittee listed below, it's especially important that they hear from library advocates. House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health & Human Services, and Education St-Dst Pty. Name Phone* FAX* AR-04 R Jay Dickey 225-3772 225-1314 CA-08 D Nancy Pelosi 225-4965 CT-03 D Rosa DeLauro 225-3661 225-4890 FL-10 R Bill Young 225-5961 225-9764 FL-13 R Dan Miller 225-5015 226-0828 IL-10 R John Porter, Chair 225-4835 KY-03 R Anne Northup 225-5401 225-3511 MD-05 D Steny Hoyer 225-4131 225-4300 MS-01 R Roger Wicker 225-4306 225-3549 NY-18 D Nita Lowey 225-6506 225-0546 OH-11 D Louis Stokes 225-7032 225-1339 OK-05 R Ernest Istook 225-2132 226-1463 TX-23 R Henry Bonilla 225-4511 225-2237 WI-07 D David Obey, Min. Mem. 225-3365 *All numbers are preceded by the 202 area code. Any Representative not listed above may be contacted through the U.S. Capitol Switchboard at 202/224-3121. _________________________________________________________________ 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 Contributors: Carol C. Henderson Claudette Tennant All materials subject to copyright by the American Library Association may be reprinted or redistributed for noncommercial purposes with appropriate credits. =================================================================