================================================================= ALAWON Volume 7, Number 60 ISSN 1069-7799 June 5, 1998 American Library Association Washington Office Newsline In this issue: (107 lines) ALA HAILS E-RATE SUPPORT FROM WHITE HOUSE, FCC _________________________________________________________________ Note: The following is a June 5 press release from ALA's Public Information Office. For more information, contact Lynne Bradley at 202-628-8410. ALA HAILS E-RATE SUPPORT FROM WHITE HOUSE, FCC The president of the American Library Association today welcomed and seconded President Clinton's call for support of the education or e-rate for schools and libraries. She joined in urging members of Congress not to back down in the face of opposition from the telecommunications industry. "We are pleased that President Clinton and FCC Chairman Kennard have reaffirmed their support for this critical program," said Barbara J. Ford, president of the American Library Association (ALA). "More than 30,000 schools and libraries in every state have applied in good faith for these discounts. Halting or cutting the e-rate program now would be a travesty." In a commencement speech to MIT graduates, Clinton called the e-rate discounts on telecommunications services "The most crucial initiative we've launched to help connect our schools, our libraries, and our rural health centers to the Internet." Federal Communications Commission Chairman William E. Kennard also issued a statement stating that "America's children, especially low income and rural children, need access to today's technology if they are to compete in tomorrow's workforce. To do this, we need discounts to hook up classrooms and libraries to the Internet. . .I am committed to this." Ford called on Congress and the FCC to keep their promises and fully fund the program without delay. "Access to online information sources isn't a luxury for libraries and schools," said Ford. "It's a necessity if we are to provide children and adults with the technological tools they need to live, learn and work in the 21st century." President Clinton's remarks came in response to Congressional criticism which has intensified in recent weeks as the program prepares to launch. "Some businesses have called on Congress to repeal the initiative," the President said. "They say our nation cannot afford to provide discounts to these institutions of learning and health by raising a billion dollars or so a year from service charges on telecommunications companies....I say we cannot afford not to have an e-rate." The universal service program for schools and libraries, more commonly known as the education or e-rate, is the result of the bipartisan Snowe-Rockefeller-Exon-Kerrey amendment to the Telecommunications Act of 1996. As approved by the Federal Communications Commission in May 1997, the e-rate provides libraries and schools with up to $2.25 billion annually in discounts of 20 to 90 percent for telecommunications services, Internet access and internal connections -- with the deepest discounts for low income and rural/high cost areas. _________________________________________________________________ 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: Carol C. Henderson All materials subject to copyright by the American Library Association may be reprinted or redistributed for noncommercial purposes with appropriate credits. =================================================================