================================================================= ALAWON Volume 7, Number 39 ISSN 1069-7799 April 8, 1998 American Library Association Washington Office Newsline In this issue: (218 lines) ACTION NEEDED: KEY MESSAGES TO CONGRESS DURING SPRING RECESS: - SUPPORT STARTUP OF LIBRARY/SCHOOL TELECOM DISCOUNTS - COSPONSOR CRITICAL COPYRIGHT LEGISLATION HOUSE COMMERCE COMMITTEE CONDUCTS HEARING ON UNIVERSAL SERVICE _________________________________________________________________ ACTION NEEDED: KEY MESSAGES TO CONGRESS DURING SPRING RECESS On April 6 Congress began their spring recess. Now is an excellent opportunity to get the library message to your senators and representatives in their home states and districts before they return to Washington on Monday, April 20. Ask them to (1) support the startup of library/school telecom discounts (e-rate) program, and (2) cosponsor critical copyright legislation (H.R. 3048 and S. 1146). Their home offices should be listed in phone directories, on the Internet (for example, see "E-Mail Addresses for Congress" at http://lcweb.loc.gov/global/legislative/email.html), or call the Congressional offices in Washington, D.C. to obtain information about their schedules, offices, etc. The U.S. Capitol Switchboard phone number is 202-224-3121. ACTION NEEDED: Invite your congressional representatives to your libraries, make an appointment to meet them in their home district, or attend and make contact in town meetings and other public events. Use these opportunities to thank them for the telecom program and explain the benefits to your community. Also urge them to support the copyright legislation for the digital future -- noted below. LIBRARY/SCHOOL TELECOM DISCOUNTS MESSAGE: PROTECT THE E-RATE: The telecommunications discount program for libraries, schools, and rural heath care providers -- one of the most historic universal service programs mandated in the Telecommunications Act of 1996 -- is again threatened even before it has started. Intended to connect rural America and low-income communities, the e-rate has the potential to level the technology playing field for the future of our children, for career and economic development, for rural health care, and life-long learning. Contact your Senators and Representatives while they are home over recess and tell them: * DON'T CUT FUNDING FOR THESE DISCOUNTS - The original $2.25 billion annual cap was established as part of the universal service fund and designated for the school-library program. Congress should maintain this funding and promote the rural health care initiatives. * KEEP ALL ELIGIBLE AND NECESSARY SERVICES IN PLACE - Keep discounts on inside connections and related services as well as telecommunications services so that these networks can reach the end-users. * KEEP THE PROGRAM MOVING FORWARD - Don't let other policy disputes disrupt this program. It must move forward to assure every community is connected by the Year 2000. It is a natural extension of long-standing universal service policies. For additional information, see the ALA Office for Information Technology Policy Universal Service Web page at http://www.ala.org/oitp/univserv.html. These materials can be used or adapted to your local needs and situations. For further information contact Lynne Bradley, Deputy Executive Director, ALA Washington Office, 800-941-8478 or email: leb@alawash.org. COPYRIGHT MESSAGE: COSPONSOR CRITICAL COPYRIGHT LEGISLATION H.R. 3048 AND S. 1146 ASK YOUR REPRESENTATIVE TO COSPONSOR H.R. 3048: More than 30 Representatives from both parties and every sector of the political spectrum have already agreed to cosponsor H.R. 3048, the Digital Copyright Era Enhancement Act, by Reps. Rick Boucher (D-VA) and Tom Campbell (R-CA). Please ask your Representative to cosponsor H.R. 3048 also. H.R. 3048 is strongly supported by ALA, the Digital Future Coalition, and librarians nationwide who have called and faxed their Representatives seeking support for this landmark bill. Those efforts are paying off, so please keep those contacts coming. ASK YOUR SENATORS TO COSPONSOR S. 1146: Library supporters are also urged to ask their Senators to cosponsor Sen. John Ashcroft's (R-MO) Digital Copyright Clarification and Technology Education Act (S. 1146). S. 1146 is a bill to revise the Copyright Act which appropriately balances the protection of intellectual property and the provision of library and other access to it. For additional information, see the ALA Washington Office web site at http://www.ala.org/washoff/ip.html or the Digital Future Coalition web site at http://www.dfc.org/. For further information contact ALA Legislative Counsel Adam M. Eisgrau at the ALA Washington Office, 800-941-8478 or email: ame@alawash.org. _________________________________________________________________ HOUSE COMMERCE COMMITTEE CONDUCTS HEARING ON UNIVERSAL SERVICE On March 31 the House Commerce Committee, chaired by Rep. Billy Tauzin (R-LA), conducted an oversight hearing on implementation of the Telecommunications Act of 1996. The hearing, which lasted almost five hours, focused on universal service, especially the library/school (e-rate) telecommunications discount program. William Kennard, chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, discussed various aspects of the implementation of the Telecommunications Act and said that the FCC has to address the perceived impact of the e-rate program on consumer telephone rates. He cited possible billing disclosure requirements, public education, changes in the administrative structure, and possibly rethinking the targeting of the e-rate program to ensure that the poorest schools and libraries are getting support. Nearly every committee member in the hearing made opening remarks. Rep. John Dingell (D-MI) was critical of the FCC and its "bloated bureaucracy", saying that the program, as interpreted by the FCC, had been "transformed into an extravagant entitlement program." He also alleged that some libraries were selling Internet services, clearly not in line with the kind of competitions intended by Congress when the Telecommunication Act was passed. Rep. Christopher Cox (R-CA) described the school and library program as a two and a half billion dollar "tax" that was "sucking the Internet into the vortex of regulation." Cox, who along with Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) coauthored language limiting regulation of the Internet in the Telecommunications Act, said that the e-rate program is an Internet regulation and thus a "gross violation" of that provision. Rep. Thomas Bliley (R-VA) reminded the committee that he had wanted the entire library/school program delayed and that the FCC had misinterpreted the intent of Congress. He said there was too much bureaucracy and that this program was a "virtual Titanic" waiting for an iceberg. Rep. Michael Oxley (R-OH) questioned the size of the school and library fund as well as the inclusion of inside wiring for discounts. He further emphasized that while the hooking up of schools and libraries was an admirable goal, it must not come through rate increases. Key congressional critics also took this opportunity to criticize the FCC and its implementation of the Act. The questioning of the FCC commissioners -- Chairman William Kennard, Susan Ness, Harold W. Furthgott-Roth, Michael Powell and Gloria Tristani -- took more than two hours. During questioning, Rep. Dingell questioned Kennard about the FCC's authority to create the Schools and Libraries Corp (SLC). Dingell added that the e-rate program was undermining efforts to keep plain old telephone service rates low to residential consumers in downtown Detroit. Rep. Nathan Deal (R-GA) asked why there was a surcharge on monthly telephone bills. Kennard responded that the FCC did not mandate the surcharge. He added that the cost of long distance has declined if compared to the cost per minute last year. Rep. Ed Markey (D-MA) had a more positive outlook and argued that the Act is not broken, but it will take time to implement. Concurring with Markey was Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-CA) who suggested that Congress "must mix vigilance with legislative patience." Rep. Bobby Rush (D-IL) questioned whether provisions in the Act promoting minority and women ownership were being effectively implemented, but spelled out his strong support for FCC Chairman Kennard's investment in the e-rate initiatives. He noted that more than 43,000 applications had been submitted to the SLC. The second witness panel included Ira Fishman, chief executive officer of the Schools and Libraries Corporation and Robert Murphy, general counsel of the General Accounting Office which authored a report critical of the authority of the FCC to establish the SLC. (U.S. General Accounting Office, Telecommunications: FCC Lacked Authority to Create Corporations to Administer Universal Service Programs, GAO/T-RCED/OGC-98-84, March 31, 1998). By the time these two witnesses were called only Reps. Tauzin and Markey were present and the general atmosphere was less threatening; most congressional criticisms had already been leveled. No other hearings are presently scheduled but more are expected. _________________________________________________________________ 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: Adam Eisgrau All materials subject to copyright by the American Library Association may be reprinted or redistributed for noncommercial purposes with appropriate credits. =================================================================