================================================================= ALAWON Volume 7, Number 89 ISSN 1069-7799 July 30, 1998 American Library Association Washington Office Newsline In this issue: (122 lines) - IMMEDIATE ACTION ALERT: E-RATE AMENDMENT WOULD HALT DISCOUNTS; ASK HOUSE TO DEFEAT SCARBOROUGH AMENDMENT _________________________________________________________________ IMMEDIATE ACTION ALERT: E-RATE AMENDMENT WOULD HALT DISCOUNTS; ASK HOUSE TO DEFEAT SCARBOROUGH AMENDMENT The latest assault on the e-rate discounts is expected to come early next week on the House floor. ALA has just been advised that Rep. Joe Scarborough (R-FL) is expected to amend the House appropriations bill, H.R. 4276, to prohibit the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) from expending funds to collect contributions from telecommunications carriers for the e-rate telecommunications discount program. H.R. 4276 is the appropriations bill for Commerce, Justice, State and Judiciary (CJSJ) which also contains appropriations for the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). IMMEDIATE ACTION ALERT: ALL library and school supporters should contact their members of the House of Representatives AS SOON AS POSSIBLE to defeat this latest assault on the e-rate. The Capitol switchboard number is: 202-224-3121. THE MESSAGE: - Ask all House members to vote AGAINST the Scarborough amendment which would halt the e-rate; - Explain how the e-rate benefits your community and what technology services in libraries and schools will be made possible when the discounts are applied; - Emphasize that over 32,000 communities have submitted applications in good faith, counting on these discounts to be real. They have pulled together all types of other local resources including funds for non-discounted services and infrastructure, staff training, and related software while developing curriculum and information programs. - Stress that Congress should not break the promises made in the Telecommunications Act of 1996. Don't let down K-12 students and lifelong learners across the Nation by halting the e-rate at this critical time. BACKGROUND: The e-rate was passed by a bi-partisan and overwhelming majority in Congress as part of the Telecommunications Act of 1996. To implement this provision of the Act, the FCC as well as a Federal-State Joint Board of regulators, conducted a series of rulemakings and other proceedings to consider how best to implement the discounts. During these initial critical proceedings, the votes were unanimous and bipartisan with numerous opportunities for public input and debate. Subsequently, the FCC established the Schools and Libraries Corporation (SLC)in late 1997. The SLC in turn developed an application package and proceeded to outline requirements for libraries and schools to obtain the discounts. During the application window from January 30 to April 15, 1998, local communities responded by renewing or developing technology plans, completing the application process, and pulling together the many other resources needed to fund services and equipment not part of the discount program, conduct appropriate staff training, and purchase the necessary software. If the Scarborough amendment passes as part of the CJSJ appropriations bill, the e-rate program would be frozen in place without any funding. The e-rate discounts had initially been scheduled to be distributed July 1 of this year; that was delayed until early this Fall, in part due to delays caused by Congressional demands for additional audits of the program. The FCC has already collected some monies for the program under the provisions in the present law though no funds have been dispersed. Universal service, including the e-rate, was one of the few public interest commitments made during passage of the new Telecommunications Act. Over the decades universal service has never been considered a "tax" but an obligation carried implicitly in basic phone rates. It is our understanding that the language of the Scarborough amendment may read: None of the funds appropriated to the FCC in this Act may be used by the Commission for implementing or enforcing the requirements for telecommunications carriers to contribute to support mechanisms to provide services to schools, libraries, and health care providers under section 254 (h) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 254(h). This amendment is consistent with Scarborough's bill, H.R. 4065, introduced in June. At the time he introduced H.R 4065, also called the "E-rate Tax Moratorium Act of 1998", Scarborough said he was sponsoring the legislation because "It's time to stop the Gore Tax in it's tracks." _________________________________________________________________ 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 All materials subject to copyright by the American Library Association may be reprinted or redistributed for noncommercial purposes with appropriate credits. =================================================================