[Scla-list] FW: [grassroots] Legislative Highlights from this week.

[Curtis Rogers]

fyi

 

From: Lynne E. Bradley [mailto:lbradley at alawash.org] 
Sent: Friday, September 18, 2009 4:33 PM
To: alacol2 at ala.org; la at ala.org
Cc: grassroots at ala.org; GIS at ala.org; copyright at ala.org;
WO_telecom at ala.org; egovt at ala.org; Jenni Terry; Jacob W. Roberts
Subject: [grassroots] Legislative Highlights from this week. 

 

TO:  Members of COL, Legislation Assembly and COL subcommittees

FROM:  Lynne Bradley, Director, ALA Office of Government Relations

 

These are just some of the highlights from this week.  Since returning
after Labor Day, Congress has been very active on many of our key
issues, even as they are in the "throws" of healthcare reform debate.
Each of these issues - and others in the hopper - will require a very
active grassroots effort from ALA and other library supporters in the
coming weeks so please standby for grassroots alerts and regular
updates.

 

 

THREE KEY ISSUES MOVE FORWARD:

 

a) Reform bill introduced to "fix" the USA PATRIOT Act - S. 1686

The "JUSTICE" bill was introduced on Sept. 17th to reform Section 215
and two other sections of the USA PATRIOT Act.  S. 1686 also addresses
national security letters (NSLs) and seeks to take a systematic approach
to look at all of the major surveillance tools and how they should be
changed to recognize our civil liberties.  Attached is a press statement
that ALA released about the bill.  There is much work to be done and
many, many bridges to cross.  We fully expect opposition to many of the
JUSTICE bill provisions.   Further, the Department of Justice sent a
letter to chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Patrick Leahy,
commenting on the recommendation to keep the three PATRIOT sections "as
is."  The ALA press statement can be found here:
http://www.wo.ala.org/districtdispatch/?cat=10

 

 

b) Community college libraries included in student aid bill

We were delighted to learn the U.S. House of Representatives passed the
Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2009 (H.R. 3221) on
Thursday, September 17, 2009.  Library language was successfully added
into H.R. 3221 in related provisions supporting community colleges.
Community college libraries were not initially referenced in the bill;
many ACRL members and community college librarians worked to help us
make sure that CC libraries would be explicitly included as eligible for
some of the new funding the bill would make available via competitive
grant programs.  We are especially appreciative of the support we
received from Rep. Grijalva (AZ), who submitted a manager's amendment on
our behalf to add the language referencing community college libraries
into the bill.  Also, we've already begun work on the Senate side to
assure that library language makes it into the first draft of their
bill.  

at:  http://www.wo.ala.org/districtdispatch/?cat=12

 

 

c) Support for anchor institutions for broadband deployment

Thursday's House Subcommittee on Communications, Technology and the
Internet oversight hearing on the Federal Communications Commission
(FCC) demonstrated strong and clear support from both Congressional
reps. and the FCC chairman.  This is welcomed news as we await decisions
about applications to the stimulus broadband program applications - BTOP
in the Department of Commerce and BIP in the Department of Agriculture.
As ALA makes continued visits to congressional offices about libraries
and broadband, support for continuing and improving the e-rate is also a
key message.  

 

Here's a quick report from John Windhausen, one of our
telecommunications consultants, who was reporting from the hearing: 

 

"Chairman Boucher just gave an excellent opening statement in favor of
high-capacity broadband to libraries at the FCC oversight hearing.  He
said that building broadband to libraries can be a "jumping off" point
to serve the surrounding community!

 

FCC Chairman Genachowski responded that the E-rate program was a
success.  He then went on to say that "schools, libraries and health
care facilities" all benefit society, and they provide "extra" benefits
of driving high-speed Internet to help solve the last mile problems.  He
said they have used the phrase "strategic institutions" and that its
National Broadband Plan will help ensure that strategic institutions
have access to a robust pipe..."

 

 

These and other issues are still very actively in play and may change at
a moment's notice.  You'll be seeing more action alerts and updates as
these bills and other issues move forward.  If you have any questions
please feel free to call or email us - and don't forget to sign up for
updates on "District Dispatch" so you can receive news on these critical
pieces of legislation as they happen.

 

You can now subscribe to District Dispatch via email or an RSS feed.
Sign on at:

http://www.wo.ala.org/districtdispatch/?page_id=277

 

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