================================================================= ALAWON Volume 7, Number 71 ISSN 1069-7799 June 18, 1998 American Library Association Washington Office Newsline In this issue: (134 lines) URGENT ACTION NEEDED: CONGRESSIONAL APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEES TO TAKE AIM AT E-RATE _________________________________________________________________ URGENT ACTION NEEDED: CONGRESSIONAL APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEES TO TAKE AIM AT E-RATE ACTION NEEDED: The e-rate program is now being threatened in the congressional appropriations process. Possibly as early as next week, both House and Senate appropriations subcommittees are expected to markup up bills that include funding for the Federal Communications Commission. This may signal the beginning of the next round of assaults on the e-rate. Both sides of Congress could succeed at completely cutting or halting the e-rate by attaching some kind of "anti" e-rate provision to the FCC appropriations (see BACKGROUND below). Please CALL or FAX immediately the following members the House and Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, State & Judiciary, especially if you are a constituent and an e-rate applicant. In addition, if you are a constituent of any of other key opponents of the e-rate: Sen. McCain (R- AZ), Sen. Stevens (R-AK), Rep. Dingell (D-MI), Rep. Bliley (R-VA), and Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-GA), please contact them and express your support for the discount program and how the e-rate will support your community. We don't need just a few letters -- we need thousands! MESSAGE POINTS: (1) Be sure to mention your support for the e-rate and any personal anecdotes about how your community will be affected by further cuts in these discounts. (2) If your library has applied for the e-rate discounts, describe how you intend to utilize the program. Please emphasize the critical need for the program and that there should be no more delays or cuts. _________________________________________________________________ HOUSE APPROPRIATIONS SUBCOMMITTEE ON COMMERCE, JUSTICE, STATE & JUDICIARY St-Dst Pty Representative Phone FAX (Use 202 area code) AZ-5 R Jim Kolbe 225-2542 CA-32 D Julian C. Dixon 225-7084 225-4091 CO-2 D David E. Skaggs 225-2161 226-3806 IA-5 R Tom Latham 225-5476 225-3301 KY-5 R Harold Rogers, Chair 225-4601 225-0940 LA-1 R Robert L. Livingston 225-3015 225-0739 NY-1 R Michael P. Forbes 225-3826 225-3143 NC-11 R Charles H. Taylor 225-6401 OH-16 R Ralph Regula 225-3876 225-3059 WV-1 D Alan B. Mollohan, Rnk. Mem. 225-4172 225-7564 WI-7 D David R. Obey 225-3365 _________________________________________________________________ SENATE APPROPRIATIONS SUBCOMMITTEE ON COMMERCE, JUSTICE, STATE & JUDICIARY ST Pty Senator Phone FAX (Use 202 area code) AK R Ted Stevens 224-3004 224-2354 AR D Dale Bumpers, Rnk. Mem. 224-4843 224-6435 CO R Ben Nighthorse Campbell 224-5852 224-1933 HI D Daniel K. Inouye 224-3934 224-6747 KY R Mitch McConnell 224-2541 224-2499 NH R Judd Gregg, Chair 224-3324 224-4952 NJ D Frank R. Lautenberg 224-4744 224-9707 NM R Pete V. Domenici 224-6621 SC D Ernest Fritz Hollings 224-6121 224-4293 TX R Kay Bailey Hutchison 224-5922 224-0776 WV D Robert C. Byrd 224-3954 224-8070 _________________________________________________________________ BACKGROUND: ALA has been advised that the Senate will start its efforts on Tuesday, June 23, when the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee for Commerce, Justice, State and Judiciary convenes. Sen. Ted Stevens (R-AK) said he plans to attach an amendment to the FCC appropriations to suspend the e-rate program altogether. As chairman of the Appropriations Committee, Stevens has a great deal of influence to effectively freeze the disbursement of e-rate funding. So far there has been no specific legislative language offered, but several key members of the Senate Appropriations Committee are also members of the Senate Commerce Committee who have criticized the e-rate program. Sen. Fritz Hollings (D-SC) has also indicated that he will use the same appropriations technique to end the FCC's ability to implement the e-rate. Two bills have been recently introduced to end the FCC's ability to collect funds for the program (H.R. 4032 sponsored by Rep. F. James Sensenbrenner (R-WI) and H.R. 4065 sponsored by Rep. Joe Scarborough (R-FL). (Further reports on these bills will be forthcoming as information becomes available.) House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-GA) has also promised to introduce similar legislation. At this time ALA has not been able to confirm exactly when the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, State and Judiciary will meet on the FCC budget. One report says that they could begin their markup as early as next Wednesday, June 24. These efforts follow the cut already made to the program by the FCC last Friday, June 12. That cut decreased the overall discounts to $1.9 billion over 18 months rather than around $2 billion for the first year. _________________________________________________________________ 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. =================================================================