================================================================= ALAWON Volume 7, Number 82 ISSN 1069-7799 July 13, 1998 American Library Association Washington Office Newsline In this issue: (180 lines) - ACTION NEEDED: COMMITTEE PROHIBITS TIIAP GRANTS TO ALL E-RATE ELIGIBLE SCHOOLS AND LIBRARIES; REGISTER CONCERN WITH SENATORS - ACTION NEEDED: ASK CONGRESS TO VOTE FOR H.R. 1614, THE READING EXCELLENCE ACT - SLC TO MERGE WITH OTHER UNIVERSAL SERVICE NON-PROFITS _________________________________________________________________ ACTION NEEDED: COMMITTEE PROHIBITS TIIAP GRANTS TO ALL E-RATE ELIGIBLE SCHOOLS AND LIBRARIES; REGISTER CONCERN WITH SENATORS A July 2 Senate Appropriations Committee report prohibits all E-rate eligible schools and public libraries from applying for Telecommunications and Information Infrastructure Assistance Program grants (S. 2260; S. Rept. 105-235). The prohibition covers all schools and libraries -- even in partnerships with other community entities -- who are eligible for the E-rate, not just schools or libraries receiving the E-rate discounts. The Appropriations Committee also agreed with the subcommittee's June 23 recommendation to cut TIIAP by 50 percent, placing FY99 funding at $11 million. The FY99 budget request from the Administration was for $22 million; in FY98 the program was funded at $20 million. The attack on TIIAP comes at a time when Congressional critics are attempting to halt or further delay the E-rate program. Some Congressional supporters of schools and libraries are working to overturn or remove this provision from the TIIAP budget. However, even if schools and libraries are again made eligible, major cuts to the program would severely limit the number of FY99 TIIAP grants. The E-rate discount in no way lessens the need for TIIAP grants. TIIAP supports the use of the information superhighway through personal computers, modems, network equipment, end user training, software, network design and system maintenance, as well as costs associated with project evaluation and dissemination of project results. Most if not all of these costs are ineligible under the E-rate. TIIAP, administered by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration in the Department of Commerce, provides matching grants to non-profit organizations -- including libraries, schools, hospitals, and state and local governments -- for innovative projects that demonstrate the benefits of telecommunications and information technology and help extend their reach to underserved communities. In FY97 twelve libraries were among the fifty-five recipients of the $20.9 million in federal matching grants to nonprofit entities in 38 states and the District of Columbia for fiscal year 1997. ACTION NEEDED: Library supporters are encouraged to write and/or call their Senators and register their concern about these drastic cuts and limitations placed on TIIAP. (The U.S. Capitol Switchboard phone number is 202 224-3121.) It is important to stress that since 1994 TIIAP grants have been used by libraries and schools -- directly or through coalitions -- for community networking, education and extending library services. The program has been able to fund only one out of every thirteen organizations that have applied. _________________________________________________________________ ACTION NEEDED: ASK CONGRESS TO VOTE FOR H.R. 1614, THE READING EXCELLENCE ACT Before Congress adjourned for Independence Day recess, there was activity to put forward either the House-passed version of the Reading Excellence Act or the Senate committee version of the Reading Excellence Act. The House-passed bill, H.R. 1614, includes a parental voucher system for tutors, while the Senate committee version with the same bill number, H.R. 1614, does not. However the Senate version of H.R. 1614 (S. Report 105-208) was not put on the Senate calendar, and Senate minority members argued that to pass the House bill would be to ignore the Senate committee process. Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott (R-MS) contended that passage of the House bill was the only choice before Congress recessed. In the end, the July 1 deadline established by appropriators last fall arrived with no literacy legislation enacted. The reserved $210 million for FY98 reverted to the account for students with disabilities. In a June 30 press release, Secretary of Education Richard Riley expressed great discontent with Congress for not completing the legislation before they left for recess. Riley said Congress had set a self-imposed deadline to pass legislation but flunked its own test and left for vacation. "I hope members of Congress can make good on their pledge to pass a literacy bill with adequate funding when they return from recess," Secretary Riley said. "With four out of ten fourth-graders unable to read at grade level, this is a needed investment that would reap educational and economic benefits for years to come." The Senate did return from recess on July 6 with the intent of taking up the Reading Excellence Act again, but passage of several other major pieces of legislation, including the Higher Education Act reauthorization and IRS reorganization, intervened. ACTION NEEDED: Library supporters should contact Senators asking for a favorable vote for H.R. 2614, as reported by the Senate Committee on Labor and Human Resources. This is the version of the bill which includes amendments referring to school library media specialists and includes partnerships with public libraries. The Senate switchboard number is 202 224-3121. _________________________________________________________________ SLC TO MERGE WITH OTHER UNIVERSAL SERVICE NON-PROFITS Note: The following is a July 8, 1998 E-rate Newsflash from the Schools and Libraries Corp. The Schools and Libraries Corporation will merge with the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC) and the Rural Health Care Corporation (RHCC) to create a single non-profit corporation, if a plan submitted by the three organizations is approved by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). The three independent non-profits were established to implement the Universal Service provisions of the Telecommunications Act of 1996. In its May 8, 1998, Report to Congress, the FCC recommended restructuring the Universal Service support organizations to address concerns about overlapping responsibilities and inefficiencies. The reorganization plan, submitted to the FCC on July 1, 1998, would create a single corporate entity, USAC, with three divisions: the High Cost & Low Income Division, the Schools & Libraries Division, and the Rural Health Care Division. Each division would be headed by a corporate officer reporting to the USAC CEO and be overseen by a committee of the USAC Board of Directors. The FCC will soon call for public comments on the plan, which is now available on the FCC web site, . The merged organizations expect to gain cost savings and efficiencies through consolidation and streamlining of common functions, such as payment of service providers, management, and office administration and accounting. Each division will be responsible for conducting unique programmatic operations, including client service support and application processing. The merger is expected to have little immediate impact on 1998 school and library applicants to the E-rate program. The proposed merger also calls for divestiture of USAC from the National Exchange Carriers Association (NECA). If accepted by the FCC, the merger plan would take effect no later than the end of 1998. _________________________________________________________________ ALAWON is a free, irregular publication of the American Library Association Washington Office. To subscribe, send the message: subscribe ala-wo [your_firstname] [your_lastname] to listproc @ala.org. To unsubscribe, send the message: unsubscribe ala-wo to listproc@ala.org. ALAWON archives at http://www.ala.org/ washoff/alawon. Visit our Web site at http://www.alawash.org. ALA Washington Office 202.628.8410 (V) 1301 Pennsylvania Ave., NW, #403 202.628.8419 (F) Washington, DC 20004-1701 800.941.8478 (V) Lynne E. Bradley, Editor Deirdre Herman, Managing Editor Contributors: Mary Costabile Claudette Tennant All materials subject to copyright by the American Library Association may be reprinted or redistributed for noncommercial purposes with appropriate credits. =================================================================