ALAWON: American Library Association Washington Office Newsline Volume 9, Number 29 April 10, 2000 In this issue: ACTION NEEDED: VOICE SUPPORT FOR LOW-POWER RADIO The House of Representatives is scheduled to vote Tuesday April 11 on, H.R. 3439, a bill to effectively kill low power radio. Library supporters are urged to contact their representatives and voice opposition to this bill. The Capitol switchboard number is (202) 224-3121. BACKGROUND: In January, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) voted to create a new class of community based, non- commercial Low Power FM radio stations. ALA filed comments in the proceedings leading to this new opportunity. Most libraries are eligible to apply for a Low Power FM license in order to broadcast community or educational programming, such as story hour or literacy tutorials. H.R. 3439 would prohibit the FCC from authorizing the operation of any new Low Power FM station. For more information on Low Power FM visit the FCC Web site at http://www.fcc.gov/mmb/prd/lpfm/ . The National Public Radio recently joined with the National Association of Broadcasters in support of HR 3439. Support in Congress has been generated by false technical information about the impact of low power radio on commercial broadcasting. H.R. 3439 will squelch the efforts of many community groups, such as libraries, churches, schools, and others before they are able to reap the benefits of this forward looking new service. Although H.R. 3439 was recently amended so that it appears only to scale back the FCC's low power service, its real purpose is to kill the plan completely. Advocates for H.R. 3439 say it will not harm low power radio; supporters say the new amendment will leave only 70 stations in the entire country. ****** 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. 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. Executive Director: Emily Sheketoff. Office of Government Relations: Lynne Bradley, Director; Mary Costabile, Peter Kaplan, Miriam Nisbet and Claudette Tennant. Office for Information Technology Policy: Rick Weingarten, Director; Jennifer Hendrix, Carrie Russell and Saundra Shirley.