================================================================= ALAWON Volume 6, Number 86 ISSN 1069-7799 October 1, 1997 American Library Association Washington Office Newsline In this issue: (160 lines) -COMMERCE DEPARTMENT AWARDS 1997 TIIAP GRANTS -SENATE JOINS HOUSE IN PASSING CONTINUING RESOLUTION -NEA TO RECEIVE $98 MILLION IN FY98; NEH TO RECEIVE $110 MILLION -FY98 FUNDING FOR THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES AND NATIONAL HISTORICAL PUBLICATIONS AND RECORDS COMMISSION ANNOUNCED--THANKS NEEDED _________________________________________________________________ COMMERCE DEPARTMENT AWARDS 1997 TIIAP GRANTS The Southeastern Library Network (SOLINET) of Atlanta ($551,768)and the Brooklyn College & CUNY Library ($650,000)were among the 55 recipients of the 1997 Telecommunications and Information Infrastructure Assistance Program (TIIAP) awards announced yesterday by Vice President Al Gore and Secretary of Commerce William Daley. National Telecommunications and Information Administration's (NTIA) is awarding $20.9 million in federal matching grants to nonprofit entities in 38 states and the District of Columbia for fiscal year 1997. TIIAP provides seed funding for innovative projects that demonstrate the benefits of telecommunications and information technology and helps extend their reach to underserved communities. "The winners of these grants are the pioneers of the Information Age," Vice President Gore said. "They are discovering creative ways to use the Information Superhighway to create educational opportunities for learners of all ages, boost local economies, transform government services, provide greater access to medical care, and fight crime." "This year, alone, there were more than 900 applicants requesting over $350 million in funding," said Larry Irving, assistant secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information and administrator of NTIA. "The response to the program proves that there is a tremendous need at the state and local level to figure out how advancements in telecommunications technologies can be used to improve people's daily lives and strengthen their communities, particularly those that are in the greatest danger of being left behind in the Information Age." The Commerce Department has not yet received its appropriation for FY98. (See "Senate joins House in passing continuing resolution" below.) After the appropriation is enacted and the FY98 funding level is determined, NTIA will prepare a Notice of Availability of Funds announcing the rules for the 1998 TIIAP competition. The Notice will be published in the Federal Register and on the TIIAP website. To request a copy of the Notice mailed, along with the necessary forms and guidelines for preparing applications, send an e-mail request to tiiap@ntia.doc.gov or visit www.ntia.doc.gov/otiahome/tiiap/index.html. _________________________________________________________________ SENATE JOINS HOUSE IN PASSING CONTINUING RESOLUTION The Senate on September 30 joined the House of Representatives in passing a continuing resolution that will keep the federal government operating for three weeks. The President is expected to sign the legislation. The continuing resolution extends through October 23, the deadline by which Congress must approve, and the President must sign, the 13 FY98 appropriations bills that finance the operations of government agencies. The Labor-HHS-Education appropriations, which includes LSTA library funding, is among those yet to be approved. _________________________________________________________________ NEA TO RECEIVE $98 MILLION IN FY98; NEH TO RECEIVE $110 MILLION The National Endowment for the Arts received a unanimous vote from a House-Senate conference committee on September 30 to preserve the agency with an appropriation of $98 million for FY98, according to today's Washington Post (10/1). The conference on H.R. 2107, the FY98 Interior Appropriations bill, (see ALAWON v6, n62, July 25, 1997) approved changes to the internal structure of NEA, including a directive to the agency to solicit outside funds, ordered a 15 percent flexible cap on the funds each state receives from the NEA and suggested putting six lawmakers on the National Council of the Arts, the agency's advisory board, which reviews and approves all grants. Rep. Ralph Regula (R-OH), chairman of the House Appropriations subcommittee with jurisdiction over the NEA and the co-chairman of the conference, attached reforms to the bill. The reforms included an increase of the percentage of NEA funding that goes to the states, from 35 percent to 40 percent, emphasized that grants have a strong educational component, and would open up the grant qualifications to some less-experienced groups and expand the outreach of programs funded. Yesterday's $98 million compromise was well below President Clinton's request of $136 million for the NEA. The National Endowment for the Humanities will receive $110 million in FY98. _________________________________________________________________ FY98 FUNDING FOR THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES AND NATIONAL HISTORICAL PUBLICATIONS AND RECORDS COMMISSION ANNOUNCED--THANKS NEEDED Anticipated floor action (see ALAWON v6, n78, September 12, 1997), occurred on September 17 when the House passed H.R. 2378, the Treasury, Postal Service, and General Government appropriations bill. The House provided the nearly $202.354 million for National Archives and Record Administration's (NARA) operational budget and the $5.5 million for National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC) grants. An additional $10.65 million for repairs and restoration for the National Archives was included. In the conference report, issued September 29 (H. Rept. 105-284), the conferees split the difference on the House and Senate numbers for NARA's operational budget, agreeing to $205,166,500 for FY98. For the NHPRC grants the conferees went with the higher House number of $5,500,000. THANKS; FOLLOW UP TO SUPPORTERS NEEDED: Thanks to all the library advocates who responded to the September 12 ALAWON action alert. Please follow up and thank the Senate and House conferees and others who participated in the conference on H.R. 2378, Treasury, Postal Service, General Government Appropriations for FY98, for supporting the House amount of $5.5 million for the NHPRC grants program and the Senate amount of nearly $205.167 million for the NARA operating budget. The members of Congress are as follows: Senators Ben Nighthorse Campbell (R-CO), Richard Shelby (R-AL), Lauch Faircloth (R-NC), Ted Stevens (R-AK), Herbert Kohl (D-WI), Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) and Robert Byrd (D-WV). Representatives Jim Kolbe (R-5th AZ), Frank Wolf (R-10th FL), Bob Livingston (R-1st LA), Steny Hoyer (D-5th MD), David Obey (D-7th WI), Ralph Regula (R-16th OH), Bart Gordon (D-6th TN) and Sidney Yates (D-9th IL). _________________________________________________________________ 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. To unsubscribe, send the message: unsubscribe ala-wo 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: Claudette Tennant All materials subject to copyright by the American Library Association may be reprinted or redistributed for noncommercial purposes with appropriate credits. =================================================================