ALAWON: American Library Association Washington Office Newsline Volume 11, Number 77 September 20, 2002 In This Issue: THIRD URGENT ACTION ALERT: PUT LSTA UP FOR A VOTE IN THE HOUSE! CALL REPRESENTATIVES TO SIGN ON TO A LETTER TO THE LEADERSHIP TO SCHEDULE VOTE ON H.R. 3784 Please call your Representative today and ask him or her to sign on to the Letter to the Leadership below. To sign on, your Representative's staff person should call Rebecca Hunt in Rep. Hoekstra's office at 202-225-4401. Please do not call yourself, either your Representative or his or her staff person must call. Representative Pete Hoekstra, chairman of the Education and the Workforce subcommittee on Select Education has agreed to take the lead in an effort to get the House leadership to schedule a vote on HR 3784, the Museum and Library Services Reauthorization. The Congress is scheduled to go home to campaign some time in October, so we need to ask Congress to move this legislation quickly. Please don't delay, call your Representative immediately! (Capitol Switchboard number is 202-224-3121) Following is the text of the letter to the House Leadership: Dear Members of the House Leadership: We are writing to encourage you to schedule a vote on HR 3784, the Museum and Library Services Act of 2002, before the end of the 107th Congress. H.R. 3784 has 94 bipartisan co-sponsors and passed favorably from the Education and the Workforce Committee in April. Given the time that has passed, and the dwindling number of days left on the congressional schedule, we believe it essential that the Museum and Library Services Act of 2002 be brought to the House floor as soon as possible, to enable the reforms in this reauthorization to take effect before the 107th Congress adjourns. Passage of H.R. 3784 will also provide guidance to the Appropriations Committee as it considers library funding issues. All Americans benefit from the small, but mighty, federal role of this legislation, which assists libraries and museums in fostering an informed citizenry. The Museum and Library Services Act is very flexible, and built around the idea of local control. The federal role has traditionally focused on areas that require incentive funding for activities that libraries and museums have difficulty initiating independently, which involve coordinated interstate efforts, and which benefit from a national policy initiative. Federal funding for libraries and museums provides services to those who require extra effort or special materials, including individuals with disabilities. These additional funds are crucial to America' s efforts to identify, preserve and share information resources across institutional and governmental boundaries. Libraries and museums are capable of astonishing creativity and aid communities in revitalizing the economy, helping children begin school ready to learn, and developing literate, informed adults. One of the few sources of funding for innovation available to libraries is federal funding, and local libraries and museums are often able to significantly leverage the funds they receive. In fact, it is estimated that library programs stimulate $3 to $4 for every federal dollar received. More often than not, these dollars are invested in the surrounding communities in which libraries are located, providing additional jobs and stimulating local economies. Thank you for consideration of our request to schedule H.R. 3784 in the coming weeks. Sincerely, Pete Hoekstra The following is a list of all the sponsors of H.R. 3784 that have not yet signed the "Dear Leadership" letter. If you contacted your Representative to be a sponsor of the bill, please contact him or her again to sign on to Representative Pete Hoekstra's "Dear Leadership" letter. Thank you for your efforts. We have only a few short weeks left to achieve passage of this bill, so we appreciate your help as soon as possible. H.R.3784 Title: To reauthorize the Museum and Library Services Act, and for other purposes. COSPONSORS(94), Phone-202-225-xxxx Rep Allen, Thomas H. (D, MN), 202-225-6116 Rep Andrews, Robert E. (D-NJ), x6501 Rep Baldacci, John Elias (D-MN), x6306 Rep Baldwin, Tammy (D-WI), x2906 Rep Barrett, Thomas M. (D-WI), x3571 Rep Bass, Charles F. (R-NH), Rep Berman, Howard L. (D-CA), x4695 Rep Biggert, Judy (R-IL), x3515 Rep Boehner, John A. (R-OH), x6205 Rep Brady, Robert (D-PA), x4731 Rep Brown, Henry E., Jr. (R-SC), x3176 Rep Burr, Richard (R-NC), x2071 Rep Calvert, Ken (R-CA), x1986 Rep Capuano, Michael E. (D-MA), x5111 Rep Castle, Michael N. (R-DE), x4165 Rep Clyburn, James E. (D-SC), x3315 Rep Davis, Susan A. (D-CA), x2040 Rep DeLauro, Rosa L. (D-CT), x3661 Rep DeMint, Jim (R-SC), x6030 Rep Doyle, Michael F. (D-PA), x2135 Rep Duncan, John J., Jr. (R-TN), x5435 Rep Eshoo, Anna G. (D-CA), x8104 Rep Etheridge, Bob (D-NC), x4531 Rep Farr, Sam (D-CA), x2861 Rep Fletcher, Ernest L. (R-KY), x4706 Rep Frank, Barney (D-MA), x5931 Rep Gibbons, Jim (R-NV), x6155 Rep Gillmor, Paul E. (R-OH), x6405 Rep Gordon, Bart (D-TN), x4231 Rep Greenwood, James C. (R-PA), x4276 Rep Hall, Tony P. (D-OH), x6465 Rep Harman, Jane (D-CA), x8220 Rep Isakson, Johnny (R-GA), x4501 Rep Jenkins, William L. (R-TN), x6356 Rep Johnson, Timothy V. (R-IL), x2371 Rep Kucinich, Dennis J. (D-OH), x5871 Rep LaFalce, John J. (D-NY), x3231 Rep Lantos, Tom (D-CA), x3531 Rep Larsen, Rick(D-WA), x2605 Rep LaTourette, Steve C. (R-OH), x5731 Rep McCarthy, Karen (D-MO), x4535 Rep McCollum, Betty (D-MN), x6631 Rep McGovern, James P. (D-MA), x6101 Rep McIntyre, Mike (D-NC), x2731 Rep Meehan, Martin T. (D-MA), x3411 Rep Miller, George (D-CA), x2095 Rep Moore, Dennis (D-KS), x2865 Rep Neal, Richard E. (D-MA), x5601 Rep Norwood, Charlie (R-GA), 4101 Rep Olver, John W. (D-MA), 5335 Rep Osborne, Tom (R-NE), x6435 Rep Petri, Thomas E. (R-WI), x2476 Rep Platts, Todd Russell (R-PA), x5836 Rep Price, David E. (D-NC), x1784 Rep Rahall, Nick J., II (D-WV), x3452 Rep Roukema, Marge (R-NJ), x4465 Rep Sanchez, Loretta (D-CA), x2965 Rep Sawyer, Tom (D-OH), x5231 Rep Schiff, Adam B. (D-CA), x4176 Rep Simmons, Rob (R-CT), x2076 Rep Skelton, Ike (D-MO), x2876 Rep Slaughter, Louise McIntosh (D-NY), x3615 Rep Snyder, Vic (D-AR), x2506 Rep Solis, Hilda L. (D-CA), x5464 Rep Souder, Mark E. (R-IN), x4436 Rep Strickland, Ted (D-OH), x5705 Rep Sununu, John E. (R-NH), x5456 Rep Tauscher, Ellen O. (D-CA), x1880 Rep Tauzin, W. J. (Billy) (R-LA), x4031 Rep Taylor, Charles H. (R-NC), x6401 Rep Taylor, Gene (D-MS), x5772 Rep Terry, Lee (R-NE), x4155 Rep Thompson, Bennie G. (D-MS), x5876 Rep Tierney, John F. (D-MA), x8020 Rep Wamp, Zach (R-TN), x3271 Rep Watts, J. C., Jr. (R-OK), x6165 Rep Wicker, Roger F. (R-MS), x4306 Rep Wu, David (D-OR), x8699 The following members have agreed to sign the letter, even though some are not sponsors of the bill. Please thank them for answering your request: Amory Houghton (R-NY); John Dingell (D-MI); Jim Moran (D-VA); Ruben Hinojosa (D-TX); Lynne Rivers (D-MI); Jerry Nadler (D-NY); Randy (Duke) Cunningham (R-CA); Joe Wilson,(R-SC); Edolphus Towns(D-NY); John M. Spratt Jr. (D-SC); Major R. Owens (D-NJ); Rush D. Holt (D-NJ); Lindsey O. Graham (R-SC); Bob Filner (D-CA), Dale Kildee (D-MI); Vern J. Ehlers (R-MI); James R. Langevin (D-RI); Tim Roemer (D-IN); Jerry Moran (R-KS); John McHugh (R-NY); Bill Pascrell (D-NJ); Carolyn Maloney (D-NY); Martin Frost (D-TX); Sherwood Boehlert (R-NY); Elliott Engel (D-NY); Patrick J. Kennedy (D-RI); Ken Bentsen (R-TX); Felix Grucci (R-NY); Mike McNulty (D-NY); David Bonier (D-MI); James Walsh (R-NY); Jim Matheson (D-UT); Mark Green (R-WI); Nita Lowey (D-NY); Dave Camp (R-MI). ****** 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. 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