ALAWON: American Library Association Washington Office Newsline
Volume 14, Number 10
February 7, 2005

In This Issue: PRESIDENT BUSH ANNOUNCES HIS FY 2006 BUDGET -- INCLUDES A $15 MILLION INCREASE FOR LSTA AND LEVEL FUNDS SCHOOL LIBRARIES

Today President Bush released his $2.5 trillion fiscal year 2006 Budget that proposes cuts to non-defense, non-homeland security spending by nearly 1 percent.
 
Despite the extremely tight fiscal environment, the President's Budget requests $262,240,000 for the Institute of Museum and Library Services, an increase of $21,565,000.  For the Library Services and Technology Act, the budget includes $221,325,000, an increase of $15,374,000 from FY 2005 (see below). Within that total is almost $171 million for Grants to State Library Agencies, $26 million for Librarians for the 21st Century program, $14 million for National Leadership Grants for libraries, and $3.675 million for Improving Library Service to Native Americans.

For school libraries, the President's Budget proposes $19,683,264 for the Improving Literacy Through School Libraries program, the same level as fiscal year 2005 and slightly below fiscal year 2004.  

Overall, the President's FY 2006 budget would cut education funding by $530 million, or 0.9%, for a total of $56.0 billion. Despite proposed increases for Title I, Striving Readers Initiative, and special education, the budget would cut or eliminate more than 150 programs, 48 of which are education programs.  Some of those programs proposed for elimination include Even Start ($225 million) and the Enhancing Education Through Technology program ($496 million).  The President also proposes cutting funding for Adult Education by $369.7 million, or 63%, from $585.4 million in FY 2005 to $215.7 million.

The budget does not take into account the military costs incurred in Iraq and Afghanistan; the price of making the President's first-term tax cuts permanent or his proposed overhaul of Social Security.  

For more information, please visit ALA's website at: http://www.ala.org/


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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; Carol Ashworth, Don Essex, Joshua Farrelman, Erin Haggerty, Patrice McDermott and Miriam Nisbet. Office for Information Technology Policy: Rick Weingarten, Director; Carrie Lowe, Kathy Mitchell, Carrie Russell. ALAWON Editor: Bernadette Murphy.