ALAWON: American Library Association Washington Office Newsline Volume 8, Number 116 November 12, 1999 In this issue: [1] Labor-HHS-Education Funding Update [2] ALA, Others Petition Supreme Court in Archives Case [3] Database Vote Still Pending; Your Contacts Still Needed [1] Labor-HHS-Education Funding Update Negotiations are still taking place between the Administration and Congressional leaders on a myriad of issues. As of November 11 a tentative agreement was reached calling for a $2.2 billion increase for education. The Administration would get the second installment for their 100,000 teacher initiative, but a quarter of the funds would give states some flexibility on how they could use the funds. All sides seem to be claiming victory. The language in the Senate and House conference agreement on library programs has been unchanged since last week. Library programs would be funded at $163.2 million, an increase over FY99 even with the proposed $8.7 million worth of earmarks listing in the conference report. However, stumbling blocks that could affect the overall compromise still remain. One major unresolved issue is finding offsets for the additional spending agreed to this week. One real possibility is an across-the-board cut of nearly one percent on all spending bills, including library programs. Until a final bill is signed, negotiators could use the education budget as a bargaining chip to get other priorities on their wish list. We will report the progress as the details become available. [2] ALA, Others Petition Supreme Court in Archives Case On November 4, ALA, Public Citizen and the coalition of organizations that led the challenge to U.S. Archivist John Carlin's General Records Schedule 20 (GRS 20) petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to reverse the recent Court of Appeals ruling upholding this rule. GRS 20 is a rule promulgated by the Archivist to allow federal agencies to destroy electronic documents resident in word processing or electronic mail systems once an electronic, paper, or microform copy is made for recordkeeping. In an October 1997 finding, U.S. District Judge Paul Friedman of the District of Columbia originally ruled on Public Citizen v. John Carlin, Archivist of the United States, that GRS 20 was irrational because electronic records often have "unique and valuable features not found in paper printouts of the records." This decision was overturned in August 1999 by the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, which found that the Archivist was within his legal bounds to establish such a rule. The Public Citizen, et al. petition to the Supreme Court charges that the Archivist's rule ignores the unique properties of electronic records by treating the format of the records as irrelevant. It also argues that GRS 20 is inconsistent with the public's experience with electronic documents, which have revolutionized the way information is stored and communicated, precisely because the electronic format can be transmitted, indexed and accessed in ways that paper and microform copies of records cannot. Others joining this petition include the American Historical Association, the Organization of American Historians, the National Security Archive, the Center for National Security Studies, journalist Scott Armstrong and researcher Eddie Becker. Copies of the petition are available on Public Citizen's Web site at http://www.citizen.org/litigation/briefs/pccar114.htm and http://www.citizen.org/litigation/briefs/pccar114.pdf [3] Database Vote Still Pending; Your Contacts Still Needed The database bill, H.R. 354, could still come to a floor vote in the House at any time (see the October 28 and November 3 ALAWONs). Amidst the Congressional and Administration negotiations on FY2000 funding issues, H.R. 354 could still come to a House floor vote with only a moments notice on a "suspension calendar." The longer Congress stays in session to work on appropriations, the bigger the risk that this database bill could be enacted by the House. Action Needed: Yet again we are ask library supporters to continue contacting your Representatives (the U.S. Capitol Switchboard number is 202- 224-3121). Emphasize that the library and broader user communities DO NOT support H.R. 354. The American public stands to lose basic, long standing public access to facts. H.R. 354 includes an exemption for education and research activities that is far too narrow; recent improvements to the bill are not adequate. For more information, see http://www.databasedata.org. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Miriam Nisbet, Legislative Counsel, at 1-800-941-8478 or mmn@alawash.org. ****** ALAWON (ISSN 1069-7799) is a free, irregular publication of the American Library Association Washington Office. All materials subject to copyright by the American Library Association may be reprinted or redistributed for noncommercial purposes with appropriate credits. To subscribe to ALAWON, send the message: subscribe ala-wo [your_firstname] [your_lastname] to listproc@ala.org or go to http://www.ala.org/washoff/alawon. To unsubscribe to ALAWON, send the message: unsubscribe ala-wo to listproc@ala.org or go to http://www.ala.org/washoff/alawon. ALAWON archives at http://www.ala.org/washoff/alawon. ALA Washington Office, 1301 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W., Suite 403, Washington, D.C. 20004-1701; phone: 202.628.8410 or 800.941.8478 toll-free; fax: 202.628.8419; e-mail: alawash@alawash.org; Web site: http://www.ala.org/washoff. Editor: Lynne E. Bradley; Managing Editor: Deirdre Herman; Contributors: Mary Costabile, Peter Kaplan, Miriam Nisbet, Carrie Russell, Emily Sheketoff, Saundra Shirley, Claudette Tennant and Rick Weingarten.