****Begin File*************Begin File**************Begin File****
*****************************************************************
                                                   ISSN 1069-7799
                             ALAWON
                 ALA Washington Office Newsline
                An electronic publication of the
         American Library Association Washington Office

                       Volume 4, Number 75
                          August 4, 1995

   In this issue: (148 lines)
     DEPOSITORY LIBRARY FUNDS RESTORED; PLAN FOR ELECTRONIC           CONVERSION REQUIRED
     HOUSE PASSES LABOR-HHS-EDUCATION FUNDING BILL
     HOUSE PASSES TELECOMMUNICATIONS BILL
*****************************************************************

               DEPOSITORY LIBRARY FUNDS RESTORED; 
            PLAN FOR ELECTRONIC CONVERSION REQUIRED 

A Senate/House Conference Committee settled differences between
the two Houses of Congress in their respective versions of H.R.
1854, Legislative Branch Appropriations for FY 1996 (H.Rept. 104-212).  Generally, the House agreed to the Senate version
regarding library-related issues, with minor changes to the bill
approved by the Senate on July 20 (S.Rept. 104-114).  

Votes on the conference agreement are likely to wait until
Congress returns in September.  President Clinton has threatened
to veto the Legislative Branch appropriations bill, observing
that it is the only one of 13 spending bills making its way
easily through Congress.  

Depository Libraries.  The House conferees agreed to accept the
Senate-passed figure of $30,300,000 for the Superintendent of
Documents Salaries and Expenses Appropriation for FY96.  This
means that the Federal Depository Library Program will not be
slashed by 50 percent as the House had recommended, but will have
the funding the Public Printer has said he needs to operate the
program.  The Senate also struck from the bill the House
provision amending Title 44 USC that would have enabled GPO to
charge agencies for distribution of paper and microfiche
documents to depository libraries.  Senators said the proposed
amendment to Title 44 "more properly falls within the
jurisdiction of the Joint Committee on Printing."          

While restoring the funds for the depository library program in
FY96, conferees directed the Public Printer to include in his
FY97 request (delivered in January or February 1996) a proposal
for the Depository Library Program that will result in conversion
of this program to electronic format.  He is to propose a means
to create cost incentives for publishing agencies, including
Congress, to migrate from print-on-paper products to electronic
format. The conferees inserted their requirement for a strategic
plan and study into the text of H.R. 1854, thus making them
required by law--as opposed to report language which is not in
statute.  The Public Printer is to submit early next year, FY97
appropriations requests and recommendations that:

(1) are consistent with the strategic plan included in the
technological study performed by the Public Printer as required
by S. Rept. 104-114;

(2) assure substantial progress toward maximum use of electronic
information dissemination technologies by all departments,
agencies, and other entities of the Government with respect to
the Depository Library Program and information dissemination
generally; and

(3) are formulated so as to require that any department, agency,
or other entity of the Government that does not make such
progress shall bear from its own resources the cost of its
information dissemination by other than electronic means.  


Constituent Copies of Publications.  Conferees agreed to a
partial restoration of funds for the printing of documents for
Congressional use and added funds for paper copies of the serial
set to depositories.  Conferees also deleted language proposed by
the House that would have included Senators in the funding
limitation on paper copies of the permanent edition of the
Congressional Record.  

Library of Congress.  The conferees agreed to provide
$211,664,000 for salaries and expense for the Library of
Congress, instead of $193,911,000 as proposed by the House and
$213,164,000 as proposed by the Senate.  Conferees restored
$17,753,000 above the House allowance, including funding for the
American Folklife Center.  These funds include $3,000,000 for the
National Digital Library project.  

The conference report also authorizes the Library of Congress to
develop a plan, subject to approval, for the creation of a single
legislative information retrieval system to serve the entire
Congress, to examine issues regarding efficient ways to make this
information available to the public, and to develop such a
system.  "The conferees wish to point out that there are
commercial sources of comparable systems and data bases, as well
as several data bases and data creation, processing, and
distribution systems extant in the legislative branch that should
be evaluated in the issue analysis and plan development phases." 

Joint Committee on Printing.  The Joint Committee on Printing was
retained but their appropriation was decreased to $750,000.    

Office of Technology Assessment.  During the conference,
proposals by Representative Vic Fazio (D-CA) to save the Office
of Technology Assessment failed.  

ACTION NEEDED:  In the face of many Congressional budget cuts,
the restoration of funds for the depository library program is a
victory thanks to several library champions, especially Senators
Ted Stevens (R-AK), Connie Mack (R-FL), Mark Hatfield (R-OR) and
Robert Dole (R-KS).  Please thank them for their support of
public access to government information.  Thanks are also due to
key House members:  Representatives Vic Fazio (D-CA), Major Owens
(D-NY), and Bill Orton (D-UT).  The letters and calls from
library supporters to their Senators and Representatives helped
to restore funds in a daunting budgetary climate.

*****************************************************************

          HOUSE PASSES LABOR-HHS-EDUCATION FUNDING BILL

Late last night, August 3, the House passed HR 2127, a measure
that would fund education, library, and other social programs in
the FY96 Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education
Appropriations Bill, by a vote of 219 to 208.  Library programs,
as previously reported, would be cut by 30 percent.  The
President indicated his intention to veto the bill if it reaches
his desk in its current form.  

The bill includes the amendment sponsored by Rep. Ernest Jim
Istook (R-OK) to prohibit the use of federal funds for political
advocacy.  Attempts to remove this language failed, but some
changes to the language were adopted.  Look for further detail on
the bill next week.
***************************************************************************

               HOUSE PASSES TELECOMMUNICATIONS BILL

In its last major action before adjourning for the August recess,
the House passed H.R. 1555, the Telecommunications Act of 1995,
by a vote of 305-117 on August 4.  

This bill does not have a provision comparable to the Senate-passed Snowe-Rockefeller-Kerrey-Exon amendment for discounted
rates for advanced telecommunications services for schools and
libraries in S. 652.   ALA and other groups had worked for such a
House amendment, and in the week before passage, four bipartisan
sponsors--Reps. Connie Morella (R-MD), William Orton (D-UT), Bob
Ney (R-OH), and Zoe Lofgren (D-CA)--had developed an amendment
regarding affordable rates for schools and libraries.  The House
Rules Committee did not make this amendment in order.  However,
during floor debate on H.R. 1555, several Representatives--including Commerce Committee Chairman Thomas Bliley (R-VA)--indicated their intention to do their best to ensure that some
language regarding schools and libraries survives a later House-Senate conference.  More detail on this and other provisions will
be provided next week.

*****************************************************************
*****************************************************************

ALAWON (ISSN 1069-7799) is an irregular publication of the
American Library Association Washington Office, 110 Maryland
Avenue, N.E., Washington, DC 20002-5675.  Internet:
alawash@alawash.org; Phone: 202-547-4440; Fax: 202-547-7363. 
Contributing to this issue:  Carol H. Henderson, Anne Heanue,
Claudette W. Tennant; Editor: Lynne E. Bradley (leb@alawash.org). 

ALAWON is available free of charge and is available only in
electronic form.  To subscribe, send the message "subscribe
ala-wo [your name]" to listserv@uicvm (Bitnet) or
listserv@uicvm.uic.edu (Internet).  Back issues and other
documents are available from the list server.  To find out what's
available, send the message "send ala-wo filelist" to the
listserv.  The ALA-WO filelist contains the list of files with
the exact filename andfiletype.  To get a particular file, issue
the command "send filenamefiletype" to the listserv.  Do not
include the quotes in your commands.All materials in the
newsletter subject to copyright by the American Library
Association may be reprinted or redistributed for noncommercial
purposes with appropriate credits.  For other reprinting or
redistribution,address requests to the ALA Washington Office
(alawash@alawash.org). 

*****************************************************************
****End of file************End of file************End of file****