ALAWON v4n32 (March 31, 1995)
URL = http://hegel.lib.ncsu.edu/stacks/serials/alawon/alawon-v4n32

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                                                             ISSN 1069-7799
                                  ALAWON
                      ALA Washington Office Newsline
                     An electronic publication of the
              American Library Association Washington Office
 
                            Volume 4, Number 32
                              March 31, 1995
 
   In this issue: (143 lines)
     S. 652 - TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMPETITION AND DEREGULATION ACT OF 1995
          RELEASED TODAY - IMMEDIATE ACTION NEEDED:
            LETTERS TO SUPPORT LIBRARY-EDUCATION PROVISION
     DOLE AMENDMENT WOULD CUT FY95 LIBRARY PROGRAMS BY $10 MILLION
          IMMEDIATE ACTION NEEDED
 
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                S. 652 - TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMPETITION AND
                  DEREGULATION ACT OF 1995 RELEASED TODAY
 
IMMEDIATE ACTION NEEDED:  LETTERS TO SUPPORT LIBRARY-EDUCATION PROVISION
 
S. 652 - The Telecommunications Competition and Deregulation Act of 1995
has now been released and filed.  The committee report is S. Rpt. 104-23.
Pertinent provisions related to universal service and incremental cost-
based rates for libraries, schools and rural public healthcare facilities
are in the bill, based upon an amendment made by Senators Olympia Snowe (R-
ME) and Jay Rockefeller (R-WV) at the March 23 mark up by the Senate
Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee.
 
This newest telecommunications legislation could be scheduled for Senate
floor debate early this coming week.  Library supporters should assume that
the legislation could be debated as early as Tuesday morning.  Even though
some observers suggest that the bill will not actually make it to the
Senate floor until after the April recess, library advocates should be
ready to move in response to the "fast track" schedule.
 
BACKGROUND:  As previously reported in ALAWON (Volume 4, Nos. 28 and 30,
March 23 and March 29) the Senate Commerce Committee conducted the bill
mark up on March 23.  The Snowe-Rockefeller amendment passed by a narrow
roll-call vote by the committee.  Other amendments added at the mark up
included the incorporation S. 314, Sen. James Exon's (D-NE) Communications
Decency Act of 1995.
 
The Snowe-Rockefeller amendment has become sec. 264 of the bill.  It
provides for K-12 public schools and public libraries, as well as rural
healthcare providers, to have access to advanced telecommunications and
that these entities should be eligible for incremental cost rates.  Library
and education coalitions are seeking to insure that maximum access onto the
information superhighway is provided in this legislation.  Further analysis
and interpretation of this just-published bill and report will be
necessary.  A first reading suggests that S.652 would push future debate on
universal service and public telecommunications services into the Federal
Communications Commission and state arenas.
 
Sec. 402 of S. 652 is the "Communications Decency Act of 1995."  It would
expand prohibitions regarding "obscene" messaging to all telecommunications
facilities.  This section raises grave First Amendment questions even
though telecommunications service providers would not be held responsible
for the transmission of "obscenity, harassment", etc.  Supposedly the
language in this section would make the originator/author of an "obscene
message" liable.  ALA would support having the amendment completely removed
from S. 652.  It is not appropriate or necessary to proceed with a First
Amendment debate of this nature amidst the larger telecommunications
issues.
 
IMMEDIATE ACTION NEEDED:  Library associations, state library agencies,
librarians and other library supporters are asked to phone or send letters
to ALL senators to ask them to support the key public access provisions of
S. 652.  Senators should be asked to support the Snowe-Rockefeller
amendment on library and related public access, specifically sec. 264.
 
Further, senators should be asked to remove the Exon "Decency Act
amendment" from this fast track.  S. 652 is not the appropriate venue for
discussion of this issue.
 
In addition to contacting your respective senators, library groups are also
asked to send or fax letters of support to:
 
      Sen. Olympia Snowe  (R-ME)             Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-WV)
          phone:  (202) 224-5344                 phone:  (202) 224-6472
          fax:    (202) 224-1946                 fax:    (202) 224-7665
 
To address Senate correspondence:
 
     The Honorable (full name)
     United States Senate
     Washington, D.C. 20510
 
The Senate switchboard phone number is:  (202) 224-3121.
 
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       DOLE AMENDMENT WOULD CUT FY95 LIBRARY PROGRAMS BY $10 MILLION
                          IMMEDIATE ACTION NEEDED
 
Friday, March 31, on the Senate floor during debate on S. 617, the Senate
FY95 rescission bill, Senator Dole offered an amendment to restore programs
in areas other than education and to further cut the Corporation for Public
Broadcasting, the National Service Corps and library programs.  The
amendment cuts HEA II-B library education and training by $10 million.  The
amendment framers are in error.  FY95 appropriations were $4.916 million,
so clearly this would also affect LSCA II-construction, or HEA II-B
research and development.
 
Senators who worked on and support the Dole amendment are Sens. Rick
Santorum (R-PA); John Ashcroft (R-MO) and John Kyl (R-AZ)  The Senate has
not yet voted on the Dole amendment, but will take it up when consideration
of S. 617 continues on Monday.
 
ACTION NEEDED:  Senators should be contacted by telephone if possible, to
reject the Dole amendment.  Final action will occur quickly on this
legislation, with conference between House and Senate versions of the FY95
rescission bill to occur after spring recess.
 
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